General News
11 October, 2023
New dog plan just the start, says VFF
VICTORIAN Farmers Federation has welcomed a one-year extension to the wild dog management Plan after calling for its renewal in recent weeks. Livestock group vice-president Peter Star said the move was one of common sense. “It just made sense to...
VICTORIAN Farmers Federation has welcomed a one-year extension to the wild dog management Plan after calling for its renewal in recent weeks.
Livestock group vice-president Peter Star said the move was one of common sense.
“It just made sense to extend the highly successful wild dog management plan,” said Mr Star after last week’s announcement by the State Government
“The wild dog management plan is a nation leading initiative that protects both farmers and our native wildlife.
“The VFF is looking forward to continuing engaging with the Government on the many benefits that the Wild Dog management program delivers and will advocate for programs strengthening and extension over the next year.”
The Plan has been a successful wildlife management program since launching in 2012.
The VFF says it has helped deliver both conservation and pest management objectives, including a 75 per cent reduction in livestock loss and attacks on properties that neighbour public lands in the east and south-west Victoria since 2012.
Wild dog control in the 3km livestock protection buffer will continue for the next year to deliver positive outcomes for producers over the next calendar year.
However, the long-term future of the program remains in doubt.
Mr Star added that attention would now turn to ensuring the program is extended past 2024.
“Although it’s disappointing that the program has only been extended for a year, we welcome the opportunity to engage with the Government to ensure the program is extended,” Mr Star said.
“Claims that the program threatens Victoria’s dingo population are baseless and are built on a lack of rigorous scientific evidence. What we do know is wild dogs pose a significant threat to Victoria’s farming communities and there’s no lack of evidence of that.”
The VFF will continue to strongly advocate for the continuation of the program in order to protect livestock producers from the effects of wild dogs and dingo-dog hybrids while also ensuring that native wildlife is protected from the ravages of wild dogs and dingo hybrids