New Solutions to Old Problems
Pest animals cause losses worth many millions of dollars to Australia's agricultural production each year. They also contribute to land degradation and pose a major threat to some endangered native plants and animals. Rabbits, foxes, feral cats, horses, goats, pigs, carp and even mice all damage our agricultural and ecological communities. Yet many of these pest animals were introduced with the best intentions last century, in the belief that they would be an asset.
Why are such mistakes made? Can we stop it happening again? Can we control the damage caused by pests? This book looks at these questions, and the advances science has made in the field of pest control, and presents some new approaches and solutions.
'Australia's Pest Animals' is written for a general audience and no scientific training is needed to understand it. Dr Penny Olsen's writing is mostly non-technical and always easy to read. Yet, it describes sophisticated, scientifically-based techniques and strategies for pest animal control. These techniques are humane, cost-effective and fully consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable land management.
This book will help farmers and natural resource managers to successfully reduce damage caused by pest animals. As a comprehensive overview of pest animal problems and their management, the book is also an important reference for policy-makers, teachers and students. Land managers, conservationists and other interested readers will gain fresh insights into one of the most significant environmental and agricultural protection issues in Australia today.
