Updated
Sheep graziers in the central west of New South Wales are celebrating their success in controlling problem wild dogs in their region.
The growing number of wild dog attacks are said to be contributing to the drop in the national sheep flock, with graziers suggesting that the financial cost and the emotional toil of stock losses have made sheep production unsustainable in some areas.
Four wild dogs have been trapped and destroyed in the Dubbo region in recent months and farmers say training and mentoring from an experienced dog trapper has made all the difference.
A coordinated approach is the best way to get on top of the problem.
Rhett Robinson, Local Land Services biosecurity officer
Grazier Colin Doherty said the dog he trapped in early August had been causing problems in his district for over 12 months.
"We knew when he was coming through, [we] had been watching his tracks," he said.
"We put cameras out in April and we picked him up on a camera in May.
"From there we did a trapping course, got the traps out in late July, and trapped the dog very early August."
The training and mentoring program was organised by Central West Local Land Services biosecurity officers using Federal drought recovery funding.
Senior biosecurity officer Rhett Robinson said the tally of dogs trapped as a result of the training has risen to four, with more outcomes expected later this month.
"We're very lucky to have (trainer) John Ward to be honest," Mr Robinson said.
"He's such a good teacher when we do those trapping courses. It's real practical hands on stuff, and he's not holding back on anything either, he's telling everyone what they need to know.
"If anyone has any troubles with dogs at the time, then we've been sending him, using that funding. We've been able to target those dogs."
The funds will soon expire, but Mr Robinson said he's confident that graziers will move into the next phase of dog control by establishing their own dog control groups.
"If everyone in a local dog control group contributes $100, and there are ten people in the group, then you have $1,000 dollars to spend to get together and do something about it.
"Because a dog is not going to stay just on one farm, it's going to range over quite a big area and impact on a lot of farms.
"A coordinated approach is the best way to get on top of the problem," he said.
Topics: pests, pest-management, wool, sheep-production, livestock, livestock-welfare, dubbo-2830, goolma-2852
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