Commercially-produced baits from Victoria are available in Western Australia but currently, most baits used for wild dog control in this state are prepared in the field from kangaroo meat.
These baits are made from pieces of meat (110 g fresh weight), injected with 1080 solution (or treated with a single 1080-impregnated ‘Rhodamine oat’), and then sun-dried on racks to lose about 60 per cent of their weight in moisture. Each bait nominally contains 6 mg of 1080. Details of making dried meat baits are given in a later section.
Trials have shown that dogs readily eat dry meat and that dried meat baits have several advantages over undried baits. Dried meat is more difficult than moist meat for small native carnivores and other species to eat, making the baiting more target-specific.
Furthermore, dried meat remains intact for longer, and is more resistant than moist meat to the rapid loss of 1080, which can occur through exposure to rainfall, microbial action, or insect attack.
Rapid loss of 1080 is undesirable because baits may become sub-lethal while still available to wild dogs. Sublethal dosing could result in some individuals becoming bait-shy, and in the longer term, might even select for genetic resistance to 1080.
Research has shown that dried meat baits killed radio collared wild dogs up to seven weeks after the baits were laid, and testing for 1080 content showed that some dried meat baits can remain toxic for considerably longer than this.
Although generally helpful, the persistence of 1080 in dried meat baits in the absence of rain must be considered when judging the potential risks to non-target animals, particularly domestic dogs. Despite the known effectiveness of the 1080 dried meat bait, there is some merit in alternative bait materials.
A salami type bait developed for foxes in Western Australia may be further developed for use against wild dogs. If effective, the salami bait would be available from retailers. One advantage of manufactured baits such as these is that they have a uniform size and weight, which means that they may be suitable to be aerially dropped via an automated delivery system. This would allow the navigator to have complete control of the bait-drop.
Commonly-asked questions about baiting:
Is it true that baiting can be ineffective because some dogs won’t eat baits?
Wild dogs that don’t eat baits are not necessarily bait-shy. Bait-shyness generally comes about through a sub-lethal dosing of poison, which leads to later avoidance of baits. Alternatively, and of more concern, is that perhaps some genetic trait makes some individuals more wary, and they avoid objects such as baits.
This could then confer a selective advantage so that in time, the proportion of dogs displaying that trait would increase. There is no direct evidence that this is the case. It is common to see evidence of wild dogs walking past baits.
However, detailed radio tracking of similar, supposedly bait-shy, individuals showed that many eventually took a bait, six to seven weeks after the baits were laid and first encountered. Talk of extensive bait shyness is unsupported speculation and can be counterproductive by directing resources away from baiting in areas where it is a highly appropriate technique.
How does available food supply affect baiting success?
Wild dogs are less likely to take baits when there is abundant food available. In these circumstances, dogs simply seem to prefer their natural, fresh prey. There are many anecdotal observations of wild dogs walking past freshly perished cattle, foregoing an abundant source of ready meat, and proceeding to hunt kangaroos.
The same is common in sheep areas: dogs will leave freshly killed or mortally injured sheep and move on to hunt kangaroos. When food supply is high, the wild dogs most likely take baits are the younger ones.
There is no clear information that adult dogs teach young dogs to avoid baits, although there are observations of previously trapped or trap-shy dingoes leading others away to avoid traps. Whether adults can similarly dissuade youngsters from eating baits is a matter of speculation.
Is it worth baiting paddocks where sheep are being killed?
Because of the food supply issues outlined above, baiting is seldom the primary control method recommended in paddocks where wilds dogs have already started killing sheep. Not only do sheep provide an easy food source, but kangaroos and other preferred prey of wild dogs are usually readily available in sheep grazing areas.
Under these circumstances, the chances of dogs taking baits are reduced. Research in the Pilbara showed that dingoes in sheep paddocks were in the best condition, because they had access to easy food.
This information indicates that it is better to use baits where they are most likely to work - in the buffer or outside the paddocks where food is harder to hunt or find. Baiting in sheep paddocks need not be abandoned altogether in these circumstances, but it may not be highly effective. Nevertheless, it will still remove foxes if they are present, and that can help with other forms of wild dog control such as trapping.
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