“Most of the modern dingoes that we tested, we didn’t see any sign of interbreeding,” Wasef said. “We’re hoping that people are going to stop killing the dingoes after seeing this study.”
Dingoes are deemed “wild dogs” in NSW – a pest species that landowners have to manage by law, largely by killing them. They are retained in national parks as a native apex predator, other than in areas where they pose a high risk to people or nearby livestock.
Craig Mitchell runs 8500 sheep near Cooma and has suffered wild dog attacks.
Some advocates for controlling wild dogs argue few unique dingoes remain and the species is largely hybrid, and does not warrant protection.
Wild dogs preying on cattle and sheep cause $73 million a year in agricultural losses, according to federal government research.
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NSW Farmers is pushing for more sustained efforts to control the wild dog populations, including more dog-proof fencing of public land. Some members are also concerned wild dogs from Victoria will “invade” NSW thanks to a legal change in Victoria this year that will protect dingoes near the state border.
But Craig Mitchell, a NSW Farmer member who runs 8500 merino sheep near Cooma, said it was important to get the balance right between retaining dingoes where they caused no harm, and protecting livestock.
“I don’t really care where they run in the [adjoining national] park, as long as they don’t eat my sheep,” he said.
“There’s no way I want to get rid of them all, but I do want to run my business and I’ve got to look after my livestock – they’re under my care.”