WWF welcomes emergency ban on harmful grazing weed
16 Dec 2005
Today's decision by the Victorian government to ban the sale of the harmful weed bear-skin fescue (Festuca gautieri) - a known grazing and environmental weed that went on sale as a garden plant in late 2004 - is a welcome development in the fight against invasive species, says WWF, the conservation organisation.
"This action is the first time the government has used its emergency declaration powers under the Catchment and Land Protection Act, and so sets an important precedent for other invasive plants that have only recently been brought into Victoria but are yet to be widely distributed," said Andreas Glanznig, WWF's Senior Policy Adviser.
"It shows that Victoria is serious about acting early to nip these problems in the bud," he said.
Bear-skin fescue, a perennial tussock grass native to southwest France and northeast Spain, is not edible for grazing animals and ends up dominating grasslands in its range.
In the UK and US, the invasive plant has already jumped the garden fence and started to encroach on native vegetation.
The weed poses a risk to lowland temperate grasslands, one of Australia's most threatened native ecosystems - a good portion of which are found in Victoria.
WA has already banned the import of the weed, which also presents a risk to biodiversity in SA, NSW and TAS.
WWF has alerted the NSW, SA, and TAS governments of the weed risk posed by bear-skin fescue. Tasmania has also recently declared this weed.
Invasive garden plants are the major source of Australia's weeds and make up 70% of environmental and agricultural weeds. Australia's weed problem costs the government $4 billion a year.
For more information
Andreas Glanznig, Senior Policy Advisor, WWF-Australia
Mobile: 0417 020 174
