January 26th is Australia Day – a national holiday commemorating the day the first fleet landed at Port Jackson, Sydney in 1788. Over recent years the date has attracted controversy as it does not recognise Australia’s original inhabitants who were, and continue to be, adversely affected by white settlement. Many decisions taken by the early settlers, particularly the introduction of exotic flora and fauna, continue to impact the Australian environment. The introduction of donkeys is one such example.
In 1866 Sir Thomas Elder introduced donkeys to Australia. They were used as pack animals especially in remote regions until the 1930s. At this point motorised vehicles began to replace the beast of burden and many donkeys were abandoned. Their hardiness and ability to survive in hot dry climates meant that their numbers increased substantially and soon they were considered a feral pest. Sir Thomas Elder and his brother, Alexander, were two of the original four founders of the agribusiness company Elders; rather ironic for someone whose legacy to Australia is feral donkeys.
Problem: Feral donkeys now pose an environmental issue across northern Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland). They can cause soil erosion, damage to vegetation, and movement of weeds. Even climate change is unlikely to negatively impact donkey numbers as they are drought tolerant.
Solution: State governments sanction various methods for the control and suppression of feral donkey numbers. The main ones are culling, either by aerial and ground culling, trapping and selling, and non-lethal fertility control.
Controversy: in 2018, the ABC reported that a station (farm) in Western Australia had a herd of donkeys that it was maintaining on the property and was being studied by a scientific team to assess the donkeys impact on the ecosystem. Initial results revealed that there are benefits to having donkeys on large stations, including keeping grasses low to reduce the risk of grass fires, especially in areas not frequented by cattle. Unfortunately, the grazier had been informed by the Kimberley Rangelands Biosecurity Association that the donkeys had to be culled.
Alternative solutions: So, what is the solution to the massive feral donkey population? One answer has been to use feral donkeys as guard donkeys protecting livestock from other feral pests and native predators: foxes and dingoes. Another suggestion has been to sell donkey hides to China (see my post on Ejiao ‘Keeping Humans Healthy #2’)
Final Words: Thomas Elder’s decision to import donkeys into Australia, whilst pragmatic for the nineteenth century, has proved to be problematic for the Australian environment in the twenty-first century. Solutions tend to divisive, often highlighting the urban-rural divide and thus not enjoy bipartisan support. There is no one solution, but one might be to sell or donate (as part of Australia’s foreign aid policy) donkeys to countries that have lost their herds to China.
