Minister for Environment Vicky Darling and Member for Cook Jason O’Brien said a $25,000-aerial control program was aimed at protecting the habitat and boosting numbers of the threatened parrot, found only in the tropical savannah woodlands of southern Cape York Peninsula.

“It is estimated that fewer than 2,000 wild golden-shouldered parrots remain in Australia,” Ms Darling said.

“The removal of 3,574 pigs from Staaten River National Park is an important step by the Bligh Government to help protect this special bird.”

Ms Darling said a considerable increase in pig-related damage to the parrot’s habitat and food resources prompted the aerial operation.

“Growing numbers of pigs in recent years have damaged areas where important grasses for parrots grow and have knocked over termite mounds in which the parrots nest,” she said.

“Feral pigs also damage rivers and wetlands, kill other native wildlife, move weeds around and carry potentially damaging diseases.”

Mr O’Brien said it was time to start reducing the park’s feral pig population before the damage by pigs reached a level critical for the parrot’s survival.

“Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service began the aerial control operation in mid-October, covering approximately 40 per cent of the park to include the entire nesting habitat of the golden-shouldered parrot,” Mr O’Brien said.

“A second control run was conducted in November over the remainder of the park.

“Aerial operations are the only option for effective land management of the remote Staaten River National Park, which has no road access.”

Research suggests that the golden-shouldered parrot became endangered due to changing fire regimes resulting in alteration of habitat and other pressures including grazing, damage by feral pigs and possibly feral cats.

Numbers of the parrot in the Staaten River National Park appear to be stable, according to regular surveys since the 1990s.