An interview with the new head of the National Wild Dog Advisory Group, Brent Finlay, published on FarmOnline on Monday has prompted a huge response from subscribers.
We've published a selection of the comments below, along with the original article.
The article and flood of comments vividly highlight the extent of the problem and what needs to be done about it.
We suggest that viewers click on the 'single page' button just below this article, on the right.
Then you'll be able to read the original article, with the extended comments set out below.
In the article by James Nason, titled 'Wild dogs eating many Aust livestock farms out of business', Brent Finlay (pictured), a southern Queensland woolgrower, warns that the seriousness of the wild dog threat can no longer be ignored.
Escalating wild dog populations, also threaten the safety of rural and semi-urban communities, Brent Finlay says.
He warns that more funding for research and training and industry wide cooperation is vital if the war against wild dogs is to be won.
Wild dog populations continue to rise across the nation.
That's in defiance of the various coordinated baiting, trapping and shooting campaigns that are conducted throughout rural areas.
However, it is the lack of national coordination between the various baiting strongholds that is most responsible for the ongoing failure to reduce wild dog numbers, he says.
Mr Finlay has seen first hand, the devastating impact that wild dogs have had on livestock and rural livelihoods.
He warns that Governments, industry organisations and rural landholders can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the severity of the wild dog issue.
“Wild dogs have the potential to force the sheep and wool industry out of business, it is that serious,” Mr Finlay told Rural Press this week.
“They are not only threatening livestock businesses but they are encroaching on peri-urban areas around rural towns.
“The year ahead in 2009 will be a critical in wild dog control and eradication.
“At the moment, we have areas that are going very well on dog control, and then other areas where individuals or small groups are trying to control them.
“Until we get everybody in that whole community to work on trying to control the dogs, we are not going to gain ground on it.”
Despite significant grower funded research by Australian Wool Innovation into alternative control strategies, the traditional methods of baiting, trapping and shooting as part of coordinated campaigns remain the most effective means of controlling dog populations.
One of the main barriers to achieving greater landholder participation in baiting campaigns has been the fear landholders face of losing their own working dogs through accidental exposure to poison baits.
While that issue had been significant in the past, Mr Finlay says the industry has learned a lot about when and where to bait, to minimise these risks in recent years.
Work is also underway to produce a bait that has an antidote. “Unfortunately that is still some time away, at least 12 months, but that will be another important tool that will give people confidence to bait," he says.
“It will mean they can then watch their dogs. If a dog takes a bait, they can then give it an antidote.”
Mr Finlay says the role of the national advisory group is to bring the strategic management of wild dogs across Australia under one body.
As chairman, he will seek to lobby Governments and industry organisations for required funding and to build awareness throughout Australia about the severity of the issue.
“We need more money, and that is part of my role as chair of this national wild dog management advisory group," he says.
“We’re not going to win this without more funding."
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