A strategic approach to the management of conservation and rural production resources of the ACT that are subject to harmful impact by pest animals.

A pest animals is a higher-order animal that causes more damage than good to a valued resource. For the purposes of this document, the valued resource is the natural biodiversity of the ACT and the productive capacity of our rural lands.

Pest animals can have significant harmful impacts on biodiversity and productivity. They can have direct effects as competitors and predators, harbour parasites and diseases, cause habitat degradation, and damage crops, pastures and capital assets. However, pest animals damage is but one of several factors that influences land management practices and priorities. Management of pest animals needs to be integrated into a whole-of-system approach that considers the social and economic implications of pest management as well as environmental considerations. A focus on pests alone is unlikely to achieve long-term benefits.

The ACT Pest Animal Strategy incorporates national developments in a strategic approach to pest management that are based on reduction of damage caused rather than a reduction in pest numbers as an end in itself. It also highlights a number of factors that assume special significance in the ACT because of its relatively small area, population size and its location in relation to the Murrumbidgee catchment and the Australian Alps.

The ACT Pest Animal Management Strategy complements the ACT Weeds Strategy as a planning and management tool for use in our quest for ecologically sustainable and economically sound management of the conservation and rural production assets of the ACT. While not specifically directed at pest animals in the urban environment, the strategy recognises that in some cases effective management of non-urban pest issues may require complementary or pre-emptive action in urban locations.

The ACT Pest Animal Management Strategy serves two primary roles. It provides an information resource for those with an interest in or responsibilities for management of pest animal issues in the ACT. It also guides the development of related programs by ACT Parks and Conservation and other government agencies with responsibilities for the control of pest animals or the damage they cause.