1/4/2024 0 Comments Wild dogs australia![]() ![]() This language can contribute to other misunderstandings about dingoes, like being able to judge a dingo’s ancestry by the colour of its coat – which can naturally be sandy, black, white, brindle, tan, patchy, or black and tan. The terminology used to refer to a species can influence our underlying attitudes about them, especially when it comes to native and culturally significant animals. “The term ‘wild dog’ is often used in government legislation when talking about lethal control of dingo populations.” “Dingoes are a native Australian animal, and many people don't like the idea of using lethal control on native animals. “‘Wild dog’ isn’t a scientific term – it’s a euphemism,” says Dr Cairns. The findings challenge the view that pure dingoes are virtually extinct in the wild – and call to question the widespread use of the term ‘wild dog’. Pure dingoes – dingoes with no detectable dog ancestry – made up 64 per cent of the wild canines tested, while an additional 20 per cent were at least three-quarters dingo. The newer paper looked at DNA samples from past studies across Australia, including more than 600 previously unpublished data samples. ![]() The study builds on a 2019 paper by the team that found most wild canines in NSW are pure dingoes or dingo-dominant hybrids. “There are rare times when a dog might go bush, but it isn’t contributing significantly to the dingo population.” ![]() “They just aren’t established in the wild. “We don’t have a feral dog problem in Australia,” says Dr Kylie Cairns, a conservation biologist from UNSW Science and lead author of the study. The NWDAP is a livestock industry-driven initiative funded and supported by its stakeholders and partners.Spatial patterns of dingo ancestry acrossĪustralia based on DNA testing. While it informs and guides best practice wild dog management, it is not directly involved in control programs.Safeguards a coordinated, collaborative, community-driven approach to wild dog control focused on minimising negative impacts on livestock and biodiversity.Informs and advises governments, peak livestock industry councils, wildlife protection groups and other stakeholders on wild dog management issues.Delivers nationwide extension and capacity building programs to promote education and adoption of best practice principles.Directs on-ground research to improve the effectiveness and humaneness of wild dog management techniques.Promotes industry and government cooperation, collaboration and investment to manage wild dogs and reduce their impacts on primary production, native wildlife and people.Provides national direction for wild dog policy development at the state and regional levels that support ongoing wild dog management.Promotes national consistency and strategies to conduct safe, efficient and humane best practice wild dog management.In one study, more than 400 koalas were fitted with electronic collars and tracked over two years. Around 130 were later found dead – mostly due to injuries from wild dogs. Wild dogs are opportunistic predators and will prey on everything from goannas to birds to koalas. The impact on biodiversity is also profound. Threatened species – Our fauna is unique to the world and for some species excessive predation by wild dogs risks their extinction.Ībout two-thirds of Australia’s producers regularly experience wild dog problems on their properties with a third describing their problems as severe.Stress – Prolonged wild dog attacks on livestock can cause serious emotional and psychological damage to rural families and their communities (ABARES 2014).Reduced employment means reduced population which affects vital basic services such as education and health. In western Queensland alone, the region has seen a 75% drop in sheep numbers and this affects the social and economic fabric of rural communities. Each year millions of dollars’ worth of livestock are killed or maimed by wild dogs. Wild dogs cost jobs and livelihoods for many in the Australian agricultural sector.Producers lose enterprise choice – farming small stock (sheep and goats) is unsustainable in areas where wild dog numbers are excessive.Wild dog attacks on livestock conservatively cost the Australian economy upwards of $89 million a year in lost production and control costs – but the impacts don’t stop there.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |