LIVESTOCK producers in the North East have greater certainty when it comes to wild dog control methods with the State Government confirming the dingo unprotection order will be renewed until 2028.
The order - which allows the control of dingoes on private land and along the boundaries of public land within a three kilometre buffer - had been subject to review due to claims it threatened dingo populations.
The announcement last week marked the end of the government’s 12-month review into wild dog management in the state, alleviating farmers’ concerns there would be a roll-back of critical control measures.
“Renewing the unprotection order gives stability and certainty to livestock producers in North East and Eastern Victoria, enabling them to continue to protect their livestock from dingo predation,” said Minister for Agriculture Rose Spence.
The Victorian Farmers Federation touted the decision as a “common sense move”, ensuring farmers have the necessary tools to protect their livestock in the face of wild dog attacks.
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“Farmers are breathing a huge sigh of relief and I would like to thank Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence and Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos for listening to us,” said VFF president Emma Germano.
“It has been an enormous effort by farmers, industry and everyone involved to have their say and make a difference.”
Ms Germano is now calling on the government to reinstate the Wild Dogs Advisory Committee to provide a place for all stakeholders to come together and determine solutions for balancing ongoing management with conservation.
Wodonga-based Liberal MP for Benambra, Bill Tilley, said the announcement was a massive win for community voices.
“More than 12 months ago (when) the threat to the order became apparent a group of seasoned, experienced landholders came together to lobby effectively,” he said.
Mr Tilley said this was achieved through multiple channels - delivering speeches to parliament; holding formal and informal meetings with the ministers; taking a stand at a farming expo in Tallangatta and getting those signatures on petitions; as well as harnessing both traditional and social media to explain the situation from a place of knowledge and experience.
He said the next hurdle is contesting “claims” wild dogs are pure dingoes.
“These dogs kill lambs, calves, alpacas, pets and guardian animals at will,” he said.
“Non-lethal control measures have proven ineffective.
“Before the buffer, killing was out of control.
“When it was introduced in 2012, livestock losses were cut to 25 per cent of what had been recorded in the previous year.”
Environmentalists however, have expressed their disappointment in the ruling, stressing the ecological importance of dingoes along with their cultural significance to First Nations communities.
Australian Dingo Foundation director Mel Browning said the government’s decision is gut-wrenching.
“This decision has been made with little transparency, and that is going to lead to the mass killing of a native species on public land (and more) concerningly deep within National Parks where they are causing no harm to livestock,” she said.
Groups like the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) have condemned the “killing of a vital ecosystem engineer within three kilometres of national parks and protected areas via baiting, trapping and shooting at taxpayers’ expense”.
VNPA parks and nature campaigner Jordan Crook has called on the government to trial an embed alternative solutions to culling.
The VNPA has welcomed the end of the wild dog component of the Victorian Fox and Wild Dog Bounty program, with the final opportunity to submit wild dog parts October 16.
The news of an additional $2 million investment into non-lethal dingo controls and population research has also been greeted positively.
Investment will build on work already underway, funding trials, research and on-ground advice predominantly in the north west of the state where the unprotection order has been and remains lifted.
Dingo populations in the north west are reported to be in critically low numbers, and as a result lethal controls are neither permitted on private or public land.
Geoff Power, chair of the National Wild Dog Action Plan (NWDAP) coordination committee queries this policy, stating livestock producers are now placed in a vulnerable position.
“The existing Victorian wild dog control program has been successful over many years in achieving a balance between livestock predation and dingo conservation, and the cornerstone of this program is the dingo unprotection order," he said.
“Since the unprotection order ended in March this year, we’ve heard several stories of producers in the north west struggling with the impacts of wild dog attacks,” he said.
Under State Government reforms, the Wild Dog Management Program will no longer exist in its current guise.
Expanded to include extra supports for farmers through targeted controls of a wider range of vertebrates including deer, foxes, pigs and wild cats, the initiative will be renamed the Vertebrate Species Management Program.
