The milestone caps a six-year program backed by $7.5 million in federal and state government funding, along with contributions from South Australia’s livestock industry.
Launched in 2020 in the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires, the Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Eradication Program removed 878 animals before the last known sows were taken in March 2024.
The bushfires, which devastated the island’s environment and infrastructure, had killed around 90 per cent of the feral pig population, creating a rare window to push the species to zero.
The program used thermal-assisted aerial culling, detector dogs, ground shooting and baiting, supported by forensic DNA analysis of waterways and more than 500 AI-assisted monitoring cameras.
In July 2024, the program entered a two-year proof-of-freedom phase.
No pigs were detected, confirming eradication.
Feral pigs had cost the island more than $1 million annually in economic and environmental damage, preying on newborn lambs, destroying crops and habitat, spreading weeds and carrying diseases dangerous to livestock and humans.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the result would aid recovery of native species and reduce the spread of dieback.
Kangaroo Island had previously eradicated feral goats and deer, and work is continuing to remove feral cats from the Dudley Peninsula.
Kangaroo Island Landscape Board chair Andrew Heinrich said the achievement came down to persistence, skilled teams, science and technology.
“These achievements do not happen by accident,” he said.
The program is now being held up as a model for invasive species management across South Australia and beyond.
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