Fundamental elements of best-practice management are identifying the problem and establishing priorities. As already outlined, the type and intensity of the control effort needed against wild dogs depends on the risks posed to the livestock in question.
The most intensive effort is required on those properties running sheep and goats and on immediately adjacent country. Apart from the legislative requirements to control wild dogs on their land , managers need to understand and consider the risks they or their neighbours face from wild dogs.
Wild dog control must be viewed as an integral part of routine property management. It is not someone else’s problem, and should be viewed in the same way as managing stock and attending to waters.
Planning for wild dog control occurs at different scales. At the property level, it is important for managers to know where dog activity is occurring, and plan their own control work accordingly.
This means allocating an appropriate amount of time for surveillance, as well as time and resources for actually dealing with the problem. This includes planning in advance for items such as bait supplies, or identifying a critical time when a dogger may be called upon.
However, it is also important to acknowledge that wild dogs can overlap several properties, meaning that the control effort is far more effective and efficient if coordinated over a broader scale than an individual property. The wider regional effort also limits reinvasion into the higher-risk areas.
With broader planning, the concept of the nil-tenure approach is critical. In this approach, the landscape is considered without boundaries. Areas that need to be targeted for wild dog control, including buffers against vulnerable enterprise, are identified and mapped out.
These planning activities require the cooperation and participation of all land managers, Best-practice management also requires monitoring, evaluation and adaptation to achieve continuous improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.
Ongoing monitoring and recording of wild dog activity and control efforts should be part of normal property management. Evaluation of the local and regional level of dog activity and control effectiveness will be assessed by the appropriate planning groups.
A Combination of tools It is vitally important that all options be considered in any control strategy for wild dogs including:
- aerial baiting;
- ground baiting;
- trapping;
- shooting; and
- techniques such as exclusion fencing.
The emphasis on particular techniques may change over time according to the area and local situation. No single control technique is appropriate for every situation.
Baiting is usually the preferred method because it is cost effective, however trapping is sometimes needed to remove wild dogs which do not take baits, and in areas where baiting is not possible. In designing a control campaign, it is important to take account of the following factors.
Animal welfare:
Animal welfare is both a moral obligation and a legal requirement under the Animal Welfare Act 2002 (AWA) and its Regulations. Important animal welfare considerations include how pest species are managed or controlled, as well as how injured livestock are treated.
The treatment of any animal should always be as humane as possible. This is in line with animal welfare legislation and community expectations. Wild dog control practices must comply with AWA and its Regulations.
There are heavy penalties, including imprisonment, for non-compliance. Apart from any moral and legal considerations, it should be recognised that the use of inappropriate control practices puts at risk the whole State Wild Dog Management Strategy.
This is because inhumane practices have the potential to undermine community confidence that pest management can be achieved without cruelty.
Unacceptable practices by even a few are also likely to be widely publicised by animal welfare and animal rights’ groups. This has the real potential to impact negatively on legitimate and responsible wild dog management. Metal-jawed traps are a prescribed inhumane device under AWA and their use is therefore prohibited.
However, there is a Defence in the Regulations that allows use of these traps only for the purpose of wild dog control, on the condition that the jaws of the trap are bound with cloth containing sufficient strychnine to ensure the rapid death of the trapped animal.
Similarly, although intentionally or recklessly poisoning an animal is a cruelty offence, there is a Defence in AWA relating to killing pests. However, this Defence relies on control practices being as target-specific as possible, and reasonable steps must be taken to avoid harming non target animals. It is also a Defence under AWA to a charge of cruelty that a person was authorised by law to perform an action and that the action was done in a humane manner.
Killing an animal per se is not an offence under AWA but being cruel is. Therefore, shooting must be carried out to achieve a clean kill and avoid merely wounding an animal. Livestock owners also have a responsibility under AWA to take reasonable steps to prevent predation of livestock and to treat or humanely destroy any injured livestock that are identified.
It should be remembered that 1080 is the only poison registered in WA for use in wild dog baits. As such the use of any other poison for baits is likely to breach the Poisons Act 1964 as well as animal welfare legislation.
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