Invasive animals such as rabbits, feral pigs, foxes, wild dogs and feral cats cause significant environmental damage and agricultural losses in Australia. The control of invasive animals is a complex issue and the traditional approach to addressing animal welfare concerns was to justify the harm done to these animals by espousing the economic benefits of control programs. This approach overlooked animal suffering and hindered attempts by animal welfare advocates to engage with the pest animal control community to change or ban unacceptable practices.

Over the last decade the promotion of best practice control strategies that aim to minimise negative impacts on both target and non-target species have seen changes to traditional approaches. Nationally applicable standard operating procedures and codes of practice have been developed and published for a range of invasive animal species. These documents openly and transparently identify negative and unacceptable welfare impacts and promote strategies to reduce these impacts.

A model has also been developed to assess the overall humaneness of invasive animal control methods. This model utilises published scientific information and informed judgement to examine the negative impacts that a method has on an animal’s welfare and, if a lethal method, how the animal is killed. A score is generated so that the relative humaneness of different methods can be compared. Although it cannot achieve a purely objective assessment, this model provides a systematic, comprehensive and transparent process that helps to generate consensus among diverse stakeholders regarding the welfare impact of control methods.

This paper examines the development of these processes and the impact they have had on improving the humaneness of invasive animal management in Australia.