The dingo is a declared threatened species in Victoria, under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. The Victorian dingo is protected under the Victorian Wildlife Act 1975.
Despite this, dingoes are trapped, poisoned and shot in Victoria due to an ‘Order in Council’ that unprotects dingoes in parts of the state. The Order in Council comes up for renewal or revocation on 1 October 2023.
The Victorian government will make its decision by October 1st about whether the Order in Council is to be renewed or revoked.
Many thousands of dingoes suffer prolonged deaths every year, in traps or are poisoned under the guise that dingoes are impacting agriculture.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Stock loss to predaction data obtained under Freedom of Information from the State of Victoria, reveals miniscule losses caused by predation, particularly when considering the actual flock numbers.
The Victorian State Government must stop pandering to agriculture and influence from sectors outside the government and act responsibly on environmental issues.
In light of the protection of dingoes, the State Government must take a responsible environmental approach and immediately turn back the Order in Council and introduce policy to support farmers with alternatives to trapping, shooting and lethal control of dingoes, our native apex land predator, and introduce guardian animals such as donkeys or marrema, all of which could easily be financed at a much lesser cost than the current regime of cruel 1080 and PAPP poisons and bounty system for dingo pelts in place.
Dingoes help regulate healthy ecosystems. Dingoes protect small native mammals by suppressing introduced predators such as cats and foxes. Protecting dingoes also respects the cultural importance of dingoes to First Nations People.
Take action today, write to the Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt ingrid.stitt@parliament.vic.gov.au and the Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney, gayle.tierney@parliament.vic.gov.au and encourage the Victorian Government to revoke the Order in Council and restore the protection of dingoes.
Association for Conservation of Australian Dingoes Inc
https://www.facebook.com/australiandingoesinc (AFCAD Inc)