WILD dogs will be the focus at a series of landholder meetings in the Kyogle district this week.
The aim of the public meetings at Ettrick, Mumulgum, Old Bonalbo and Wiangaree will be to create co-ordinated program of feral dog control with the help of local residents and landholders.
Josh Wellman, Biosecurity officer with Local Land Services at Casino, said the need for co-ordination was especially important on the North Coast because properties tended to be much smaller and residential overlap often prohibited the use of 1080 poison.
For example at Bexhill, near Lismore, trapping was the only control option to control wild dogs. Last year five domestic dogs were attacked in the area.
Mr Wellman said an ideal control program would include a mix of poison, trapping and shooting carried out twice a year, preferably spring and autumn.
“This time of year we see small pack of wild dogs, four of five individuals, that tend to be siblings from the same bitch,” he said. “These dogs are juveniles and stick together for protection.”
Dogs at this juvenile age were easier to control because they were relatively vulnerable.
“Once a dog gets to two years old they are very savvy,” Mr Wellman said. “They are a survival animal.”
Available food, such as rats in nut orchards, tended to bring wild dogs close to urban areas. Vacant land and properties managed remotely also created corridors for travelling dogs, as did abandoned railway corridors – of which there are plenty on the North Coast.
Tuesday, February 9 at Ettrick Hall, 6pm; Thursday, February 11 at Mummulgum Hall, 6pm; Tuesday, February 16 at Old Bonalbo Soldiers Hall, 6pm; and Thursday, February 18 at Wiangaree Hall, 6pm.
Landholders interested in attending should contact Josh Wellman at North Coast Local Land Services on 0428 645 535.
