THE ISSUE

Relentless broadscale persecution of dingoes, since the arrival of Europeans over 200 years ago, has resulted in dingoes being completely extirpated across the majority of Victoria. Remnant populations are considered threatened species and yet the wholesale killing of dingoes with cruel 1080 poison – ground and aerial – baiting, inhumane trapping as well as hunting, with a $120 bounty on their scalps, continues.

This is made possible by a highly questionable Order In Council (commonly known as the Dingo Unprotection Order) that unprotects dingoes on a total of over 3 million hectares of both public and private land in their remaining Victorian range, where they are labelled ‘Wild Dogs’ and legislated as ‘Pest Animals’ and actively targeted by both government funded ‘Wild Dog Controllers’ and private land holders in a coordinated, nil tenure approach to eradicate them from vast tracts of land.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Victorian Labor government are currently undertaking a 12 month review of the Order In Council, due for completion on 1st October 2024. The outcome will determine whether the Order is renewed or revoked, meaning the wholesale killing of dingoes will continue or they will be protected. As part of the review process and based on sound scientific advice, the Victorian government took a bold step of revoking the Order, on 14th March 2024, for an isolated population of unique, pure and critically endangered dingoes in North Western Victoria. This population of ‘Wilkerr’ dingoes are a culturally significant species for the Wotjobaluk Nations and there are an estimated of only 40 breeding age adults remaining. This action is applauded by the Australian Dingo Foundation and represents a monumental step forward and the first of its kind on the Australian mainland.

The killing of dingoes continues unabated across the rest of the State of Victoria, with the review of the Order In Council for other remnant dingo populations in the High Country, the North East and Far East of the State, continuing.

SEVEN REASONS WHY KILLING DINGOES URGENTLY NEEDS TO STOP

1. Dingoes are a culturally and spiritually significant species to First Nations peoples.
2. Dingoes are a keystone species, that protect biodiversity. Australia’s native animals have survived and thrived under the protection of dingoes for thousands of years, shaped by nature to perform the critical role as Australia’s native apex land predators, providing ecosystem resilience and stability. Dingoes pick of the old, weak, injured or diseased, ensuring genetically strong and healthy populations of their native prey species. Dingoes are 24/7 pest controllers that suppress invasive species such as feral goats, rabbits, pigs, foxes and feral cats as well as regulate larger native herbivores such as kangaroos ensuring healthy flora and fauna diversity as well as soil health.
3. Recent research has proven that wild Canids in Victoria are overwhelmingly pure dingoes of high conservation value.
4. Beyond ‘Wilkerr’ dingoes, the health of the other remnant populations of dingoes in Victoria is largely unknown and could be at serious risk of extinction.
5. Livestock losses to dingoes have been historically inconsequential. e.g. Representing less than 0.02% of the Victorian sheep population, even prior to the coordinated pro-active killing of dingoes orchestrated by the introduction of the National Wild Dog Action Plan in 2014. ’Wild Dogs’ [dingoes] are reported to cause damage estimated at $15 - $18 million each year in Victoria but this figure has no bearing on actual livestock losses with hundreds more dingoes killed each year than the miniscule number of reported livestock losses of between 200-500 / year out of a total flock size of 15 million.
6. The broadscale, relentless and indiscriminate eradication of dingoes from the landscape is not justified, effective or humane and has detrimental impacts on dingoes fulfilling their keystone role as apex land predators putting ecological balance and biodiversity at serious risk.
7. There are much more efficient and effective ways of protecting sheep than the killing of dingoes, to work with nature to protect livestock and dingoes.

THE SOLUTION

The Australian Dingo Foundation is actively campaigning for the Victorian government to revoke the Order In Council for the rest of the State of Victoria, as recommended in the Ecosystem Decline Inquiry Report.

To support us in our endeavours you can:

1. Sign and share this petition.
2. Use the information provided here and/or in your own words, prepare a letter to your local Victorian Member of Parliament calling for the Order In Council to be revoked.
3. Add a donation for the Australian Dingo Foundation to assist with our ‘Victorian Dingo Protection Campaign Fund'.
4. Follow the Australian Dingo Foundation at: 
   https://dingofoundation.org/
   https://www.facebook.com/dingoHQ/​ https://www.instagram.com/dingodiscovery/​ https://www.instagram.com/wandi_dingo/​ https://www.instagram.com/pumbahthedingo/