Livestock farmers affected by wild dogs breathed a collective sigh of relief last week as the state government announced it would continue to permit the control of dingoes and wild dogs in eastern Victoria.
The Victorian Government statement said it aimed to ‘strike a balance between dingo conservation and predation management in Victoria’, by remaking the Dingo Unprotection Order (order) in eastern Victoria until January 1, 2028, while protecting the dingo in the rest of the state.
Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence and Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos made the announcement, which continued to permit the control of dingoes in eastern Victoria for the protection of livestock on private land and in the three-kilometre buffer zone on public land.
Buchan South farmer Peter Sandy said the announcement would hopefully make life a bit easier.
“Thank god common sense prevailed,” Mr Sandy said.
“It’s a good result.
“It’s a real concern how things like that can happen (the threat of removing the permit to control wild dogs) how out of touch people are with country matters, how naïve they are.”
Under the new order, the wild dog component of the Victorian Fox and Wild Dog Bounty program will cease, and the Wild Dog Management Program will be renamed the Vertebrate Species Management Program.
The focus will be expanded to include pest species such as deer, feral pigs and cats and foxes and will continue to provide support to farmers and responsive and targeted dingo control to mitigate the impacts of stock attacks in eastern Victoria.
Gelantipy producer, Alfred Hackett, said despite the loss of the wild dog bounty it was still a win.
“We’re pretty happy with it,” Mr Hackett said.
“Losing the bounty is worth the compromise to keep things the same for the next three years.
“Although, to me, the writing is on the wall with the date they set, January 1, 2028, will be the end of it, you just hope for a change of government in between time.”
He said the major change was the government dog traps going back to 24-hour checks, which was mostly standard for private landholders.
Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, said he was relieved the wild dog control program would continue and paid tribute to the thousands who signed petitions, advocated, attended public meetings and shared their stories.
“I am pleased the Minister listened to common sense and left this program unchanged,” Mr Bull said.
“We need to continue supporting our primary producers – this is a win for now, but we can’t become complacent.
“Farmers must continue to report stock deaths and dog sightings.
“It was clear at the meetings that many thought reporting was a waste of time, but when this program is reconsidered in 2028, we will need their information.
“I urge primary producers to keep supplying this data to the Department of Agriculture.”
Mr Bull said opponents who sought to put an end to the program clearly had no knowledge of either the impact or best methods to stop dogs from killing stock, simply arguing for better fencing and the fact that no controls should take place on Crown Land.
“What they fail to grasp is, fencing is one tool but cannot be relied on alone,” Mr Bull said.
“The controls have to be on the tracks and trails the dogs use in the bush adjacent to private land.
“Every farmer and dogger will tell you that.
“You will never get them all, but the controls keep our farmers viable.
“The opponents also get hung up on whether they are dingoes or wild dogs.
“The majority of farmers will tell you they don’t care, they are dogs that kill their stock, there are lots of them and some need to be controlled, while they are happy for the bigger population to thrive in the wider bush.
“The argument they are under threat is just ridiculous.”
The remaking of the dingo unprotection order follows an extensive review on dingo conservation and predation management, incorporating feedback from Traditional Owners, farmers and agriculture and environmental stakeholders, alongside scientific research.
Dingoes remain listed as a threatened species and are protected under the Wildlife Act.
Under the new order, dingoes will be protected in the northwest of the state, where the dingo population is critically low and at risk of extinction.
In the remainder of the state where there is limited evidence on the presence of dingoes any predation control will continue under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 and the Domestic Animals Act 1994.
For more details about the order visit the government’s wildlife webpage and for farmer support visit the Agriculture Victoria website.
For those with wild dog parts to hand in to claim the bounty, the final opportunity is at Maffra on October 16.
