Cattle farmer David Donnelly, “Glendon”, Glen Innes, got the surprise of his life when he discovered a wild dog den on his property.
Mr Donnelly says cameras set up by LLS officer Brad Davidson showed the dogs had some black in them - probably from a German Shepherd cross.
He wants the reintroduction of wild dog exclusion fences. He fears the dogs may have taken some of his calves. “It is not possible to run sheep here,” he said.
“I was very surprised to find the den. I’ve never heard of a dog den so far into the grazing country. Normally you would see them in state forests or national parks. This means the dogs have a 15 kilometre head start.’’
Surveillance showed the dogs returned to the dens again and again. They also shared the den with other animals - including quolls, hares and rabbits. One wild dog paw print on his property measured 100 millimetres across. “That’s a big dog.”
John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
