Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2009L02536:reg:3:p4
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2009L02536
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 4/8)
Character Range: 20573–23760

might switch to achieving success on smaller islands, perhaps with a single species of exotic rodents as the priority.  Whenever possible in undertaking research on, or control of, exotic rodents on islands the disease status of the species (and, where appropriate, co-occurring native mammals) should be assessed.  Such assessment will help refine the evaluation of risks and the prioritisation of control for island occurrences of exotic rodents.

The final actions in this section are to ensure the benefits of successful eradication of exotic rodents are measured, known to stakeholders and celebrated, successes are defended against re-invasion by rodents (expanded in section 3.4.4), and removal of exotic rodents is seen as an opportunity to manage other threats present on the island. The benefits of removing rodents will be island-specific. These might extend from the re-categorisation of a listed threatened species to a safer category to the contingent opportunities to return extirpated species to the island.

2 - Actions to achieve eradication                                                                         Priority and timeframe
2.1 Eradicate rodents from Lord Howe, Macquarie, Montague and Mutton Bird islands                          Very high priority, short to medium term
2.2 Consider Australian registration for an aerial bait with anticoagulant for use on island eradications  Medium priority, medium term
2.3. Enhance skills to plan and conduct eradication operations in Australia                                High priority, ongoing
2.4 Eradicate exotic rodents on other islands where high-priority conservation benefits will accrue        High priority, long term
2.5 Measure benefits of eradication                                                                        High priority, ongoing as projects are conducted
2.6 Eradicate or control other pests on islands from which rodents are to be eradicated                    High priority, ongoing as projects are conducted

Current state of actions
Effective baiting protocols are available and the planning and operational skills can be acquired or developed. Therefore, the current plans to eradicate exotic rodents from two large islands (Macquarie and Lord Howe), and two small islands (Mutton Bird and Montague, in NSW) will act as new examples for others to follow. Success in eradicating rodents from the large islands would lead the world and give confidence that other large Australian islands could be attempted with a high likelihood of success.

The use of brodifacoum baits sown from the air is now permitted in Australia under 'minor use' permits. Bait manufacturers intend to use the data collected from Macquarie Island to consider the costs and benefits of registering the bait under the Agriculture and Veterinary Code Regulations 1995.

An outcome of these projects will be to strengthen and widen (past the current expertise in Western Australia) the capacity of Australian agencies to plan, conduct and monitor the eradication of exotic rodents. Developing institutional capacity is important as the program of management of exotic rodents on islands is likely to exceed the