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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-25 Daily Xml
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Wild Dogs

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:12): I rise today to talk about a subject I have spoken about in this place before. It is on the back of a question I put to the Minister for Primary Industries in question time today in relation to this government's wild dog strategy.

I was pleased to hear from the Minister for Primary Industries that we now have in this state seven dog trappers filling two full-time equivalent positions and that those trappers have already trapped some 28 dogs over four properties in the North East Pastorial zone. Up until our commitment following the last election, there were no dog trappers working in this state. That is an absolute disgrace, given the extent of the fence—some 2,500 kilometres that winds its way across the pastoral zones and the north of South Australia—and the fact that there is continuing pressure on that fence.

These trappers are working in conjunction with aerial baiting. The aerial baiting continues inside the fence as a combined strategy with the dog trappers. All this will absolutely have an impact as, from what I have been hearing from some of my fellow pastoralists and graziers, the dog numbers are having a severe impact on not only their sheep numbers but also their businesses. The numbers that I have been quoted are horrendous in some cases.

I had a call from a fellow in the north-east pastoral zone the other day, who mustered—I assume it was for land marking—and was down, by his estimate, some 1,400 head of sheep. That is a lot of sheep. He was not putting it down entirely to dogs, as obviously, there are very dry conditions across the north of the state. There will be other reasons for some decline, but 1,400 is a lot. A near neighbour of his brought a mob of ewes in and marked just 1 per cent lambing. They are horrendous figures.

The dog numbers are high. Under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004, passed by this parliament, wild dogs are a declared pest, so they need to be destroyed inside the dog fence. That responsibility is not always felt. Many pastoralists—most pastoralists, all pastoralists—are doing a good job and recognise their responsibility. Unfortunately, some lease owners are not doing what they are required to do. With a broad brush I paint a picture: there are, I guess, some mining companies, some national parks, some Aboriginal lands and some tourism ventures that are not necessarily taking their responsibility to control dogs as they should.

The South Australian Wild Dog Strategic Plan articulates the goals. Goal 1 is to detect and eradicate wild dogs inside the dog fence. Goal 2 is to prevent incursions by wild dogs through the dog fence. Goal 3 is to protect the cattle industry, and I suspect the sheep industry as well. Goal 4 is to ensure good governance for the management of wild dogs across South Australia. That is articulated in the government's own plans, and we need to take those responsibilities very seriously. South Australia would not have a sheep industry without the dog fence. We have to ensure that all the armoury is in place and effective and that the dog fence is adequately maintained.

There has been repair and maintenance ongoing across the dog fence, but what I hear from pastoralists is that it is not keeping up with the pressure that is on the fence itself. The trouble is that when dog incursions occur in significant numbers, dogs can breed up inside the fence, and that makes it doubly difficult. Crossbreeding occurs: often in South Australia they are not necessarily pure-bred dingoes or wild dogs. They will crossbreed with domestic dogs, and the offspring of that coupling comes with an advantage. A dingo in the wild whelps only one pup for each pregnancy and once crossbreeding occurs that can go up to half a dozen pups or more, so numbers can increase significantly.

The Dog Fence Board ensures the fence is regularly patrolled and maintained with the funds received, and those funds are as a result of a levy paid by properties and matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the government. It is a critical industry. It is critically important that we maintain the fence and maintain an effective strategy to control dogs in this state.

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