Dingo plan to control foxes, feral cats
DINGOES would be reintroduced into Victorian forests as an eco-friendly method of pest control under a suite of new recommendations by a parliamentary inquiry.
A government review of ecosystem decline has recommended a trial of introducing the apex predator back into native parks and other areas to help limit the impact of foxes, feral goats, cats and other introduced species.
Research suggests they would also deal with excessive kangaroo populations and help smaller animals under threat, such as marsupials, birds and reptiles.
Farmers would need to be compensated for livestock that may be eaten.
The committee also recommended phasing out 1080 baits, commonly used to limit fox populations, and developing a strategy to limit the impact of domestic cats on the environment.
In a submission to the inquiry, the Australian Dingo Foundation said foxes and
cats had contributed to the extinction of small native marsupials and were threatening other species.
Reintroducing dingoes into key areas would kill those pests and prevent them hunting, it said.
“Dingoes fill the niche of apex land predator within
Australia at the top of the food chain,” the submission states.
“Dingoes are ecosystem regulators, providing ecological stability and resilience, with the entire ecosystem’s health hingeing on their performance.
“Through complex behaviours and social interactions, dingoes also self-regulate their own populations, which is essentially unique to top-order predators across the world, including lions and wolves.”
Dingos are also culturally significant for some Indigenous Australians, who have been calling for their return to parts of Victoria.
The committee recommended a trial to reintroduce dingoes in a park or reserve where they used to live but were later exterminated.