The Gold Coast Titans have joined forces with the National Fire Ant Eradication Program to help spread awareness of the destructive pest in Australia.
The Program is working to eradicate fire ants by 2032, focusing its efforts on strengthening containment and compliance, and intensifying treatment in an area spanning from Moreton Bay, west to the Lockyer Valley, and south to the Gold Coast and New South Wales border.
Severely impacting the way of life and living in Australia, fire ants can destroy crops, damage electrical equipment and machinery, and render yards, parks, paddocks, and farmland unusable.
Fire ants also inflict a painful sting that can cause severe and potentially fatal allergic reactions in humans and animals.
Titans chairman Dennis Watt is proud to be joining the fight alongside the National Fire Ant Eradication Program to help spread awareness of eradication efforts.
"Fire ant eradication is an important national program that will take a whole-of-community approach here on the Gold Coast to stop such a destructive pest," he said.
"They have such an impact on our way of life here in Australia, which makes it even more important to be championing such initiatives to protect our great country to ensure we can continue our great love for footy given their potential infestation at parks and fields.
"We’re proud to be joining the fight alongside the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, and there’s no better time to reinforce our support for this important work than ahead of our Sunshine Showdown against the Dolphins, with the issue just as prevalent for the Moreton Bay region also."
National Fire Ant Eradication Program executive director Ashley Bacon said it’s important people understand the impact fire ants could have on Australia.
"Fire ants may be small, but they can have devastating consequences on our lifestyle, we need to do everything possible to protect our love of the outdoors for future generations and eradicate this super pest once and for all,” he said.
"We won’t be able to use our local parks, barbecue in our backyards or walk around without shoes on, and we won’t be able to watch our local footy team without fire ants having an impact.
"We need people to sit up, take notice and understand what is at stake. Like the Gold Coast Titans, we need our community behind us – because footy is no fun with fire ants and we need to work together to stop them from taking over."
