How smart tech is reshaping feral pest control
Traditionally, invasive species control relied heavily on manual patrols, physical trap checks and reactive responses. Today, remote sensing technology is giving landscape boards real-time alerts from the field that save time and deliver targeted results.
THE Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board (MRLB) is combining on-ground expertise with artificial intelligence, remote sensor cameras and satellite tracking to tackle feral pests at a scale that would have been unimaginable even a decade ago.
Traditionally, invasive species control relied heavily on manual patrols, physical trap checks and reactive responses. Today, remote sensing technology is giving landscape boards real-time alerts from the field that save time and deliver targeted results.
On-ground cameras and drones combine for feral pig control
The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is applying the same technological principles to feral pig management.
An array of 4G remote sensor cameras, powered by solar and rechargeable batteries, send images directly to eVorta, which rapidly identifies pigs, estimates group size and assesses group composition.
This intelligence is critical to humane and effective trapping. Remote-activated trap systems can be armed only when an entire feral pig mob is present, reducing the risk of partial captures and avoiding the creation of trap-shy animals.
The integration of automated monitoring and action increases whole-group removal rates and improves animal welfare outcomes.
The system is further strengthened through drone technology. High-definition and thermal drones provide an aerial perspective of the landscape, detecting pigs in dense vegetation and documenting environmental impacts such as wetland wallowing and aquatic plant damage.
Over the past 18 months across more than 118,600 acres, 221 feral pigs have been removed in the Murraylands and Riverland, not including additional feral pigs controlled by private landholders. Given the species high reproductive potential, this reduction represents a significant decrease in environmental, agricultural and cultural impacts across the landscape.
Across South Australia, the integration of remote sensors, AI image recognition, GIS dashboards, drone surveys and tracking technology is delivering measurable benefits:
- Higher capture efficiency.
- Lower operational costs.
- Reduced fuel use and staff time.
- Less disturbance to non-target species.
- Improved animal welfare outcomes.
- Quantifiable environmental protection.
- Co-ordinated control across multiple properties.
- Defensible, data-driven reporting.
Field officers, landholders and project managers remain central to decision-making and delivery. What has changed is the speed, scale and precision with which they can act.
Remote sensors detect activity. AI classifies and prioritises. GIS systems integrate and visualise. Teams respond strategically and adapt based on evidence.
By shifting from reactive control to intelligence-led management, South Australia’s landscape boards are demonstrating how innovation can deliver real-world outcomes for biodiversity, agriculture and communities.
It’s not about the technology itself. It’s about what it enables: smarter decisions, co-ordinated action and increased scale of protection for the state’s landscapes.
- MRLB
