Wild Dogs

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister update the house on the state government's—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr TRELOAR: Will the minister update the house on the state government's wild dog strategy and the baiting program currently underway?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:24): I thank the member for Flinders for his very important question and I note that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I would appreciate it if members ceased interjecting.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —I was in his fantastic electorate just recently and visited Minnipa, as I did with the Far North Dog Fence Board, and it was a very constructive meeting. It was constructive because this government has implemented a wild dog strategy as an election commitment to those pastoralists and to the primary industries of South Australia. We have done that through consultation and a commitment. I will be meeting again with the Dog Fence Board tomorrow with the member for Flinders.

The wild dogs are having a profound impact on a $4.7 billion industry here in South Australia. Yes, the state government has recognised the need to act quickly and implemented a $1.2 million program. It is a strategy that was not within the 100-day commitment; it was a strategy that was done on a needs basis. It was a strategy that I felt needed to be expedited because the reports I was getting from pastoralists and the primary sector were that we were seeing large numbers of sheep attacked by wild dogs. It was having a profound impact not only on sheep numbers but on the health of pastoralists and primary producers, who were lying awake at night wondering how many dogs were on their properties and how many sheep were going to be lost in that period. It does have a significant and compounding interest on those primary producers.

The update today is that this government has contracted seven trappers from 1 July. That is the equivalent of the two full-time equivalent wild trappers we committed to in our election commitment. As an update to the house, one of the wild trappers, who commenced on 2 July, has already completed a 16-day deployment in the Far North pastoral district and 28 dogs have been trapped across four properties. That is an outstanding achievement when you consider that some of those dogs can take multiple sheep every night.

Our strategy is to put particular focus on the Orroroo district, where it is believed that individual wild dogs have been tainted by baits and not been taken by them. It is important to note that the trappers will converge on that district and make sure that they deal with those dogs because those dogs are continuing to have a profound impact on sheep producers.

We are also receiving feedback from the aerial baiting program that many dog carcasses have been sighted through the aerial baiting program. Again, those trappers will be deployed where the aerial baiting program has been initiated so that we use the co-ordinated approach to deal with the ever-increasing number of wild dogs. Those trappers are only working on properties where appropriate baiting has occurred. What I will say is that the baiting program has provided landholders with more than 100,000 manufactured and fresh meat baits in pastoral areas, as well as the 25,000 baits that were made available from the 14 tonnes of kangaroo meat.

It is also important to note that 124,000 free manufactured baits were also made available to landowners through the NRM offices last month. This is a co-ordinated approach that only this government is taking seriously. For many seasons, we have seen pastoralists urging governments to step forward and deal with the ever-increasing number of wild dogs. This government is acting. A Marshall Liberal government is sticking up for the regions and is there to actually support that $4.7 billion red meat industry here in South Australia. Remember—hashtag #sheepmatter.