Southern Downs aerial baiting to continue

SOUTHERN Downs Regional Council and landholders have enjoyed successful wild dog control and subsequent reduction in wild dog impacts in much of the region, but serious impacts are still being felt in others, such as the Main Range area, Karara, Mt Tully and Pikes Creek.

The council is set to target inaccessible strategic wild dog breeding and dispersal areas in council’s upcoming aerial 1080 baiting program, next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Southern Downs manager environmental services Tim O’Brien said council’s Invasive Pests Strategic Plan 2016–2020 required landholders in relevant areas to actively participate in best practice wild dog control.

“For most, that means participation in council-run co-ordinated 1080 ground baiting programs,” he said.

“For those landholders in identified strategic habitat and dispersal areas that are inaccessible by ground, it means participation in council’s aerial baiting program.”

The council was fortunate to secure funding for strategic aerial baiting of inaccessible wild dog habitat, mainly in the traprock sheep and wool growing region, over the past two years.

The program was very successful in reducing wild dog impacts and has had benefits for native wildlife.

Pest management officer Craig Magnussen said it highlighted that prior to the introduction of aerial baiting, landholders in the Goldfields locality were typically losing 200–300 sheep per year to wild dogs.

“Losses are now negligible. We have a series of remote cameras established at strategic locations to alert us to when dispersing wild dogs from further afield may be moving into previously baited country.

“Excitingly, we have seen a marked increase in the number and variety of native wildlife captured on camera in these areas, such as quolls, koalas, scrub turkeys and lyre birds.”