If the latest parliamentary inquiries recommendations are adopted, dingo populations would be reintroduced into Victorian forests as an eco-friendly pest control method.
The purpose of releasing the dingoes would be to regulate kangaroos, goats, foxes and feral cats numbers. In addition, the committee believes the reintroduction would protect smaller animals under threat, such as marsupials, birds and reptiles.
However, just the mention of reintroducing dingoes into locations across Victoria makes farmers nervous, with many already seeing huge stock losses to wild dogs.
The Weekly Times reported 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 these pests and prevent them from hunting.
“Dingoes fill the niche of apex land predator within Australia at the top of the food chain,” they submission reads.
“Dingoes are ecosystem regulators, providing ecological stability and resilience with the entire ecosystem’s health hinging on their performance.
“Through complex behaviours and social interactions, dingoes also self-regulate theirown populations which is essentially unique to top order predators across the world, including lions and wolves.”
Professor Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University, said there would be numerous benefits if it happened, mainly when it comes to pest control. He mentioned the dingos could control kangaroos, feral goats, foxes and feral cats numbers and later mentioned pigs and deer.
The professor also said that dingoes will regulate their own numbers once established in an large area.
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