Wildfires  wipe out many species of wildlife.

The misguided destruction of  Dingo populations by governments, as part of wildlife fire recovery programs or in response to claims that Dingoes (mistakenly called "wild dogs") are a threat to agriculture, is likely to undermine ecosystems  and may lead to extinction of dingoes in some regions. 

In the aftermath of extreme and widespread destruction by fires, more caution then ever  must be exercised in regard to non-target impacts of poisons. The use of poisons, particularly 1080,  will also destroy non target species such as lizards, starving quoll, birds, earthworms, birds such as raptor, eagles, kookaburra and other carnivorous animals and  Dingoes. 

Spotted Tail Quoll are already listed as Threatened under EPBC Act and the Victorian Dingo is listed as Endangered under Victorian Legislation. Poison baiting whether aerial or ground is irresponsible and must be stopped.

Application of the cruel 1080 poison to kill dingoes (misleadingly referred to in government literature as 'wild dogs') is not an approved use of 1080 in Victoria. In 2011, under pressure from extreme elements within the farming lobby, a compliant Victorian Coalition Government obtained special permission from the Commonwealth under the EPBC Act to aerial bait with 1080 in 6 locations in Gippsland Victoria, with strict Controlling Provisions relating to Threatened Species and Communities pursuant to section 18 and 18A EPBC Act.

Permission was initially sought for 1080 aerial baiting in 12 locations within Victoria to kill ‘wild dogs’, despite the dingo having been previously listed as a threatened native species by the Brumby Labor Government under Victorian legislation. However, because of concern over the potential for negative impact upon the Spotted-Tail Quoll, a federally listed threatened species, permission to aerial bait was granted for only six of the requested locations.

Victoria’s Spotted-Tail Quoll population was regarded as fragmented and small. Even a small increase in mortalities, it was feared, may significantly run the risk of local extinctions of the species.   

The  Labor Government must remove use of 1080 poison across the States. 

The Victorian Labor Government must not perpetuate the environmentally reactionary policy of the earlier Coalition government.

In New South Wales 1080  is used as   part of a massive assault on the environment, with claims of protecting "stock" from predation or reducing fox populations, which will impact Dingoes and other wildlife.

Environmental Vandalism. Continued baiting with 1080, ground or aerial use,  will  be environmentally irresponsible.

The primary beneficiary from continued ground and aerial baiting would be the poison industry, which is now "big business" and its sponsored advocates.

Millions of public funds are wasted annually on lethal control of ‘wild dogs’, allegedly to protect farm stock. Yet, actual stock losses are extremely small. For instance, officially reported stock loss from ‘wild dog’ predation in 2016-17 for the whole of Victoria was 995, out of a total Victorian sheep flock of well over 13 million. Further, the locations  baited only account for a very small proportion of Victoria’s sheep flock. 

Unforeseen damaging effects of poison.  

It now appears likely that baiting with 1080 adds to the extinction pressure upon the Spot Tailed Quoll arising from extensive ground-based 1080 and PAPP baiting foxes across eastern Victoria. The near complete disappearance of the once common Spot Tailed Quoll across Victoria has coincided with the adoption of extensive, ongoing fox baiting. A plausible hypothesis is that the widespread use of poison for fox control has resulted in much reduced fox numbers, which may in turn may have led to an increase in feral cat numbers and greater uninhibited predation by feral cats upon Spotted-Tail Quolls, particularly their young. Competition by cats with Spotted-Tail Quoll for prey may also have had an adverse impact on quoll populations.

The use of 1080 poison for fox baiting impacts Dingoes.

We oppose the use of poisons but the increased impact of 1080 poison baiting is incorrigibly irresponsible and must not be allowed to continue and particularly at a time following  wildfires.  We support the use of non-lethal measures and oppose the use of  inhumane poison, which includes its intensive delivery throughout Victoria,  because it  is reasonably foreseeable that  Dingoes protected under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Vic and the threatened species Spotted-Tail Quoll, raptor, kookaburras and other birdlife,  will continue to be destroyed as a consequence. 

The claimed benefits to farmers have been consistently exaggerated.

Entrenched, antiquated attitudes towards Australian wildlife as “pests” to agriculture must be abandoned and farmers must learn to live responsibly within Victorian ecosystems.  

We must continue to lobby for the end of 1080 including opposing the delivery by the massive aerial baiting.

We thank Gary Meredith for ongoing permission to use his photographs. Photo Credit: Gary Meredith.

#BAN1080 #conservation #protectedspecies #FloraandFaunaGuaranteeAct

AFCAD INC​

Association for Conservation of Australian Dingoes Inc