Why are dingoes pests

He'll still kill a dingo if it attacks his cattle, but he says that happens less frequently once an established dingo pack forms. But how Angus manages the ecosystem on his property isn't entirely up to him.

He's expected to play his part in pest eradication, and that includes working to control dingoes for all landholders. It's a requirement under Queensland's Biosecurity Act , though many landholders agree it is not a heavily enforced requirement. There is also a similar law in New South Wales.

In the Northern Territory, dingoes are a protected species. Landholders can still kill problematic ones, though they do need a permit. A similar rule applies in Victoria. Angus Emmott agrees that freely allowing dingoes on a sheep station is not an option and targeted strategies are needed in those settings.

But he believes Australia's largely one-size-fits-all approach to dingo management is ineffective and flawed. He doesn't want to ban graziers from killing dingoes, but he does want the current approach of killing them at a landscape level changed. He wants to use it to push for a new approach, and highlight the benefits of coexisting with the apex predator.

Despite the importance of apex predators, relatively little is known about dingoes and much is contested. Whether they are even a separate species from domestic dogs is something scientists can't agree on. Some experts, like Kylie Cairns, a geneticist from UNSW who specialises in dingoes, believe that what people call "wild dogs" are basically just dingoes.

Instead of treating them as pests, she believes they should be managed like native animals and allowed to fulfil their role as apex predator in Australia's arid ecosystem. A recent study of hers looked at the genetic fingerprint of 5, "wild dogs", finding almost all had predominantly dingo ancestry. The majority appeared to be pure dingoes. While some scientists have disputed how she identified dingoes in her study, Dr Cairns says her findings suggest feral domestic dogs are not an established pest in Australia.

She believes the indiscriminate killing of dingoes disrupts their family pack structure and leads to a higher number of problematic dingoes.

Once the pack is disrupted, the remaining dingoes are less confined to their territories and can reproduce more, she says. Australia also has the world's highest rate of extinction among mammals, and Dr Cairns suggests killing dingoes could be partly to blame.

There is also some science to back Angus' claim that dingoes boost his bottom line. One paper looked at three decades worth of satellite imagery from either side of Australia's dingo fence, which stretches 5, kilometres from the Nullarbor in SA up to the Darling Downs in Queensland.

They're naturally lean, weighing between 13kg and 18kg and standing about 60cm tall. Their coats are commonly golden yellow, but they may have reddish, tan and black fur. They typically have white markings on their chest, feet and tail tip. Their large ears and muzzle are pointed. A Dingo. Photo Steve Parish. They usually remain in one area but can cover large distances beyond their territory if conditions require or when young animals disperse.

Dingoes hold a significant place in the spiritual and cultural practices of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They feature in dreamtime stories and ceremonies, on cave paintings and rock carvings. A Dingo pup caught by sensor camera on Pilungah Reserve. Dingoes descend from Asian canids. Research into their origin and the timing of their arrival is ongoing. Recent analysis of the genetics of both the Dingo and the closely related New Guinea Singing Dog provides evidence that they arrived in Oceania at least 8, years ago.

Dingoes are found across most of mainland Australia — from deserts to snow-covered alpine areas, from grasslands to rainforests, though they favour edges of forests next to grasslands. A Dingo Action Statement has been developed which sets out the priority conservation actions for the Dingo in Victoria. Any wild dog or Dingo found on private land or on public land adjacent to private land has the potential to threaten livestock.

More information on wild dogs is available from Agriculture Victoria. However, the Dingo is listed as a threatened species under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act and as a result is threatened wildlife and protected under the Wildlife Act It is an offence under the Wildlife Act to take or kill threatened wildlife without an authorisation to do so.

Dingoes cannot be reliably visually distinguished from wild dogs, making it impossible to ensure they are not inadvertently destroyed in wild dog control programs in any given area where both exist. To allow the continued control of wild dogs where they threaten livestock, an Order in Council was made on 1 October under the Wildlife Act , declaring the Dingo as unprotected wildlife in certain areas of the state.

The Order in Council is in place to enable wild dog control for the protection of livestock on private land and along the boundaries of public land in some areas of the state, whilst also ensuring the conservation of the Dingo on most public land. On 24 September , an amendment to the original Order in Council was made to extend it for a further five years and remove an out-dated section regarding perpetual leases on public land.

A new Order in Council was made on 25 September to allow control of wild dogs and Dingoes to continue where they threaten livestock for a further five years — until 1 October Order in Council PDF, The Dingo is a threatened species and protected on most public land throughout Victoria.

A Dingo Action Statement was developed in consultation with major stakeholder groups and released in January These include limited food supply, human intervention, density of the population and the occurrence of disease or parasites. Wild dogs are often dingo and domestic dog hybrids and therefore difficult to distinguish from pure dingoes.

Dingoes often occur in areas inhabited by wild dogs, appear morphologically similar to wild dogs and are extremely difficult to differentiate from wild dogs. This means that wild dog control programs have the potential to directly impact on dingoes.

The management of wild dogs in Victoria is complex because they cannot be readily distinguished from dingoes in the field.

In Victoria, the dingo Canis lupus dingo has been listed as 'threatened' under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act and is protected on most areas of public land under the Wildlife Act To allow for the protection and conservation of dingoes in remote areas, as well as provide for the legal control of wild dogs, dingoes have been declared unprotected under the Wildlife Act in certain circumstances.

Predation by dogs can have an impact on remnant populations of endangered animal species. For example, the dingo has been implicated in the extinction of the Tasmanian native hen Gallinula mortierii from mainland Australia.

It seems endangered species with small populations are more vulnerable to predation by wild dogs than larger populations, which are more resilient. Control methods used to manage wild dog numbers have the potential to harm some native species. A positive impact of wild dogs is their predation on other feral species such as goats and deer fawns. The primary agricultural impact of wild dogs is stock losses. Wild dog attacks cause an average sheep deaths annually.

Sheep are not the only livestock attacked by wild dogs, often cattle and goats are also targeted. Sometimes dogs will chase an animal without killing it, which can stress the animal resulting in mismothering and the loss of production. Total economic impact must also take into account the loss of potential genetic gain, the redirection of resources away from farm activities to control effort and land values. Wild dogs can have significant impacts on farming communities. They also have the potential to impact human health.

All dogs can carry a parasite called the hydatid tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus , which has the potential to cause fatality in humans. Another potential risk of wild dog populations is rabies.

Although rabies is not found in Australia, canids would be the most important vector of this disease if introduced to Australia. Integrated pest management using all available control measures implemented in a coordinated manner at a landscape scale is the best control method for wild dogs. Management should occur in accordance with the relevant legislation and animal welfare requirements.

Biosecurity Protecting Victoria Moving livestock and animals Moving plants and plant products Animal diseases Marine pests Pest animals Invasive animal classifications Invasive animal management Managing wild dogs in Victoria Priority pest animals Asian black-spined toad Boa constrictor Canada goose Cat feral or wild Cane toad Eastern corn snake European hare European rabbit Goat feral or wild House crow House mouse Northern palm squirrel Pig feral or wild Red-eared slider turtle Red fox Smooth newt Wild dog, dingo-dog hybrids feral or wild Report an exotic pest animal sighting Trapping pest animals Victorian fox and wild dog bounty Pest insects and mites Plant diseases Weeds Food safety.

Populations History of spread Wild dogs are defined as feral dogs, dogs-run-wild and dingo-dog hybrids.

Distribution in Victoria Victoria has two main areas of wild dog activity. The north-west of the state has another population of wild dogs in the big desert region. Animal biology Appearance Wild dogs and hybrids Wild dogs can vary in their appearance depending on the breed of dog they descend from. Dingoes Dingoes have short bristled tails and generally have a ginger coat with white points on the ears, feet and tail.

Behaviour Generally wild dogs are most active at dawn and dusk however activity can occur day or night. Two types of wild dog movements have been identified: intense wild dog activity exploratory movement.