QUESTIONS ON NOTICE › Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Question No. 2111)
Senator Ludwig: The answer to the senator’s question is as follows: (1) The number of dingos/wild dogs inside the South Australian Dog Fence has gradually increased over the past few years, as it has in rangeland ‘sheep zones’ in other states. This has occurred for several reasons: exceptional rains over the past three years have promoted high prey numbers resulting in increased breeding and survival of dingos/wild dogs; a lessening of control by some landholders, associated with a reduction in the number of properties running sheep inside the fence. A general decline in available labour on properties is further compromising the ability of landholders to undertake high level dingo/wild dog control; and some dingos/wild dogs also survive and breed inside the Dog Fence – there are inevitable, isolated, temporary occurrences of damage to the Dog Fence through which dingos can occasionally pass. (2) Advice from Australian Wool Innovation Limited is that $163 000 has been invested in dingo/wild dog control below the Dog Fence in the South Australian Arid Lands region. This funding has been for: A grower consultation, participatory planning, approval and participatory implementation process for an aerial baiting pilot trial program for dingos in otherwise inaccessible areas south of the Dog Fence, ($88 000); and A ground baiting planning process in the Gawler Ranges south of the Dog Fence ($25 000); and purchase of a range of dingo control tools for deployment by local groups south of the Dog Fence ($50 000). (3) No targets for “dingos baited” were set for the trial. (4) Refer to the response to Q(1). (5) No. (6) Research to date suggests that wild dog baits do not pose a significant threat to any off-target wildlife populations in the region. The high sensitivity of wild dogs to the toxin, in comparison with native carnivores, means that baits can be prepared that carry a toxin dose too low to be toxic to native animals of the region and are also too large to be taken by the native animals. The toxin does not bioaccumulate and sub-lethal doses are excreted within 24 hours. The risk of off-target impacts is thereby minimised.