28 March 2006 - The threat posed
by exotic rats to our native plants and animals
has been formally recognised under federal environment
law, the Australian Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell said today.
Senator Campbell has included the ‘predation by
exotic rats on Australian offshore islands of less
than 1000 km2 (100,000 ha)’ as a key threatening
process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999.
“Established populations of exotic rats on Australian
offshore islands often have a devastating impact
on birds, small mammals, tortoises, lizards, large
insects and plant seeds and seedlings specifically,
and increase the vulnerability of island ecosystems
generally,” Senator Campbell said.
“What this listing will practically do is escalate
work on abating the threats posed by exotic rats
and help bring together the range of work going
on to control the impacts rats are having on our
native vegetation and wildlife.
Senator Campbell said the listing was an important
demonstration of the Australian Government’s commitment
to tackling invasive species.
“Rats are highly invasive species and are having
a considerable impact on Australia’s island biodiversity,
leading to the extinction of vulnerable indigenous
species,” Senator Campbell said.
“In addition to their impact as predators, exotic
rats may also exert an influence as competitors
for limited food sources.”
The Minister has called for the development of a
national Threat Abatement Plan for exotic rat control
under the Act.
This Plan will provide for coordination of current
and future activities related to controlling the
impacts of exotic rats.
“While this key threatening process has been limited
to islands of less than 100,000 hectares, a national
Threat Abatement Plan is likely to identify actions
that will be relevant to larger islands,” Senator
Campbell said.
The Minister’s decision is timely, coming as the
8th Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity is meeting in Brazil to
consider a range of issues related to the conservation
of island biodiversity. These issues include identifying
opportunities for the control and eradication of
key pest species from islands.
