ALMOST 35,000 individual baits have been laid across the region as part of Central Tablelands Local Land Services’ latest autumn wild dog baiting program.
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Aerial drops co-ordinated by LSS spread 18,300 baits in hilly and inaccessible country managed by National Parks, State Forests and Crown Lands land, while 265 private landholders laid 16,400 ground baits on their own land.
Contract trappers have been targeting problem dogs in the Hargraves, Hill End and Turondale areas and in the eastern ranges of the Central Tablelands region.
LLS biosecurity officer Brendon Stubbs said that as more farmers move out of sheep, it is likely the dogs will increasingly attack young cattle as they search for food.
“We have had a lot of reports of sheep being killed, mauled, and maimed, and we’re now hearing about a lot of calf losses,” Mr Stubbs said.
Dogs are already spreading to new areas where they haven’t previously been reported, according to Central Tablelands LLS invasive species and plant health team leader Tim Seears.
“Landholder participation in strategic baiting has also been increasing every year, with more and more people joining up to new pest control groups that have been established in the last five years targeting wild dogs,” he said.
Landholder Bruce Drakeford is one of the many farmers who has joined a wild dog control group and took part in the autumn baiting program.
“The individual can’t control dogs on their own, it has to be a joint effort by everybody concerned,” Mr Drakeford said.
“Every landholder that owns stock should be involved in trying to do something about the dogs because they’re only going to get worse.”
Mr Seears said the assistance of landholders like Bruce Drakeford was vital for the success of wild dog control efforts.
“I’d particularly like to say a big thank you to the group coordinators who do so much work to help us out in running the baiting programs and to get their neighbours and other landholders involved,” he said.
“We’ll be carrying out follow up baiting in late winter and early spring and we look forward to continuing to work with all the landholders who have taken part in the autumn campaign.”
