Graziers at Coolatai were glad to hear that two elusive wild dogs marauding local farms for nearly two years had finally been caught.
The dogs were using a national park near Coolatai as a base to hit local sheep herds - one was so bad the grazier ended his sheep grazing operation.
Unusually, one of the wild dogs caught was a bitch. Normally only male dogs are caught as they tend to roam further afield.
Webbing on the feet of the dogs told the hunters that the dogs had strong dingo blood in them, he said.
North-West Local Land Services biosecurity officer Dave Lindsay, said one of the dogs had killed an estimated 200 sheep on one property over two years.
Mr Lindsay urged landholders to report dog sightings to the LLS or through the phone app FeralScan so they could act on a sighting and get trappers in.
He had been working with wild dogs for over 30 years and said they were moving further and further afield. He believed the problem would only get worse. "It's just the tip of the iceberg." Two dogs were caught, but the pup escaped at Coolatai.
He said it was important farmers worked together to control wild dogs. Problem dogs also at Gravesend and Bingara over the last five years that had caused "big issues" had also been cleaned up recently
Minister for Agriculture and Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said the capture of the two dogs was welcomed news for farmers in the area.
"This successful operation is a welcomed relief, and I commend and thank the Kurrajong Bridge Wild Dog Group for their close work with Local Land Services. Their cooperation was crucial to the success of this control program. They used the monitoring cameras to understand the movements of the pests over time.
"Extraordinarily, our biosecurity experts say this is the first female dog to have been controlled in the area in the last 30 years."
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John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
