Coulton speaks on wild dogs
05-July-2011
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton spoke last night in support of a motion put forward by his Nationals colleague Member for Gippsland Darren Chester, calling for a nationally coordinated management approach to control wild dogs.
Mr Coulton acknowledged in his speech the economic, social and environmental impact wild dogs have right across Australia. Wild dog damage in NSW estimated to cost farmers $16 million and $18 million in Victoria. Livestock producers suffer substantial losses of production and profitability due to wild dogs hunting, killing and injuring sheep, goats and cattle on their land.
“This is not a minor problem. Wild dogs have an impact in excess of $60 million annually—and, quite frankly, that is a conservative estimate.”
“This is a problem not only in what we would consider the traditional sheep grazing areas but I know that in western Queensland in the south-west corner across millions of acres sheep are no longer run. The reports coming through now are that the cattle are at risk; that calves are being taken at birth.”
Mr Coulton spoke of his personal experience with wild dogs and the damage they caused to livestock on his family’s property.
“I do not come to this place without some knowledge of this. Indeed, some years ago we had one wild dog that came into the vicinity of our property,” Mr Coulton said. “The amount of damage that that one dog inflicted on our livestock was horrific, and not just on the ones that were killed. On one occasion we found a dozen prime lambs that had been driven into a dam and drowned. We saw sheep with their muzzles chewed off. So I know first-hand the pain and suffering that these dogs can inflict.”
Mr Coulton explained that most wild dogs in or near grazing areas are controlled through a combination of poison baiting, trapping and shooting by private land holders; however, he raised his concerns about the current campaign working to eliminate the poison 1080.
“There is a lot of concern about the welfare of these wild dogs and the suffering that may be caused to them through trapping or baiting but very little focus on the pain and suffering or the welfare of the livestock they attack.”
“There is a campaign at the moment to move away from 1080 poison, which has been a very effective bait for many years. There is one source in the world that produces 1080 and there is a concern that the ongoing supply of 1080 is at risk not only for wild dogs but for rabbits, foxes and feral pigs.”
“I believe we have seen a quite remarkable decrease in funding, but, probably more important than that, we are actually seeing a change in focus on the way wild dogs are managed by different agencies and the Invasive Animals CRC.”
“This is not a trivial matter, it is a serious economic matter, but it is also an animal welfare matter to the livestock right across Australia that are impacted by wild dogs.”