WITH the NSW wild dog population continuing to flourish despite co-ordinated attempts to rein them in with government funded baiting programs, there is a new attempt at control on the North Coast.
A meeting at Casino last week formed an over-arching body to control baiting programs between the Clarence and Richmond Valleys, with Tom Amey, Mumulgum via Casino, elected as president.
If there is enough support from landholders it is hoped that funding will be made available for follow-up trapping and shooting. But in order to qualify for those government dollars participation will have to increase from 27 per cent of the local land area currently baited to 70 per cent to qualify for government dollars.
Mr Amey addressed the meeting saying he had baited against wild dogs for years but the recent mauling of his beloved Jack Russell house dog just 30m from his back verandah was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’.
“It is only a matter of time before one of us graziers breaks a leg out the back of our property and something really terrible happens with wild dogs,” he said, noting that his herd lost six per cent, or $12,000 worth of calves each year to wild dogs.
As well wild dogs can spread the eggs of the parasite Neospora caninum which can cause cows to abort their calves.
Dave Worsley, the north east wild dog facilitator for Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) told the 50 people attending Casino’s meeting that unless 70 per cent of landholdings were involved in co-ordinated baiting programs wild dog numbers would remain the same.
It is roughly estimated that 5000 wild dogs make the Eastern Fall country on the North coast their home.
“Unless you can get 70 per cent landholder collaboration you will struggle,” he said.
Already AWI, Tablelands breeders and some on the Eastern Fall and Richmond Range, Forestry NSW and National Parks and Wildlife take part in autumn and spring baiting ‘offensives’.
Last year $137,000 in meat and helicopter time, excluding 1080 and manhour costs, dropped 105,000 aerial baits in strategic locations across the tablelands and Eastern Fall with statistics showing 90 per cent of radio-collared dogs in the bait zones were killed.
Mr Worsley discredited a bounty saying there was no consistency to the program and organisers had no way of knowing where the dead dog actually came from.
Instead he advocated the use of co-ordinated baits with landholders entering data in to the FeralScan app.