FARMER Alan Bennett from Lawloit - bordering the Big Desert between Kaniva and Nhill, has had several sheep mauled by wild dogs.

He applied to the state government for a permit to remove the wild dogs from his property and was denied the right to any control.

“So, if they are attacking my sheep, then I can only watch them,” Mr Bennett said.

“We have had four more subsequent attacks which have been much more targeted where they (wild dogs) have injured say ten sheep but killed two sheep - they have become much more efficient.”

Mr Bennett goes on to say that they have been breeding merino sheep on their property all his life and the previous management plan seemed to have worked well, as it was only the wild dogs that entered the buffer zone or his farm that were trapped or shot.

He also explained that as the weather has been so dry, the wild dogs have left the national park area and come looking for water.

“It’s really catastrophic,” Mr Bennett said.

“The sheep that have been bitten tend to die too - not sure if it’s stress or blood poisoning from the bite, but they all tend to die, even if the wound seems insignificant.

“The emotional toll has been dreadful and particularly for my 28-year-old daughter who does most of the stock work.

“We are a self-replacing merino flock. I have wasted days up there looking for them (wild dogs) - but even if I saw them, I can’t actually do anything!

“The dogs are mostly black, some have a bit of white on a tail or a foot, but mostly black.

“We are installing exclusion fencing which is hard, as we are bounded by two roads and gates are a problem.

We have worked out that we need 37 km of exclusion fencing but if this continues the way it is, then we are going to have to give up on the sheep and do more cropping - and we won’t be the only ones.

The wild dogs can travel ten miles in a night, so they can devastate a huge area.”

When Mr Bennett contacted the Department of Agriculture about the mauling’s and deaths of his sheep, he was asked to provide proof. When the inspectors came and inspected the dead sheep in the paddock a week after the attacks - there was not a lot left, after the hot weather and the birds had eaten them.

The inspectors asked me to refrigerate the next one so that DNA could be recovered, and evidence retrieved.

There are cameras up now, but Mr Bennett said that the inspectors are too scared to make a decision.

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Tallangatta farmer Emma Nankervis has downsized her flock of sheep and is waiting on a decision from government to decide what she does next.

Ms Nankervis is part of a group - North East Wild Dog Action Group - which was formed to advocate for farmers in their area on the impact of Wild Dogs on livestock, native animals and farming businesses.

She said that the government promised that they would consult with farmers about any changes to the legislation, but there has been none!

“Our group have written letters to the Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence, and she said, ‘it’s out of her hands and a matter for the Department of Environment (DEECA),” Ms Nankervis said.

“How is it, that the Minister for Agriculture has ‘no say’ in a government action that is directly impacts Agriculture?”

“My main gripe is that the current government made promises that they haven't fulfilled, and it feels like they have no real intention of fulfilling either promise.

“Our group "The Northeast Wild Dog Action Group" has written multiple letters to the ministers for Ag and Environment and if we get a response, it's empty and from DEECA who seem to be making the decisions with zero consultation.

“I want to call the government out on what's looking like yet more broken promises.”

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In an update on the legal action being taken by Animals Australia against the Victorian ‘ministerial order extending lethal control of wild dogs and dingoes’ until October 1, “is invalid and of no effect” and that sheep losses are “minuscule”.

Animals Australia dropped its Supreme Court case against the Victorian Government’s dingo control program, just four days after both environment and agriculture ministers agreed to protect wild dogs in the states north-west.

So that would be a win to Animals Australia protecting wild dogs and a serious loss to sheep farmers who bring $4.5 billion worth of revenue to the State.

I caught up with Victorian Farmers Federation President, Emma Germano, to get the latest on the farmers’ right to protect their livestock from predatory wild dogs.

“We have been in constant conversation with both the ministers,” Ms Germano said.

“Unfortunately, there has been the huge issue of under-reporting of wild dog attacks, which has led to serious inaccuracy regarding the size of the problem.

“We just don’t have the data to back up what we know.

“Most farmers have gone about managing the wild dogs over decades and have not felt the need to report it, and now; all wild dogs are being referred to as dingoes.

“But you can’t just go in and remove the unprotection order before you have put in place other measures.

“Alan Bennett has had 30 sheep killed in the North West and I am receiving photos from him regularly - but we need to ensure that other provisions are put in place - whether that be exclusion fencing before they remove the unprotection order.

“We just can’t go in there ‘all guns blazing’ or they will lock us out of the conversation altogether.

We need to understand what it is that they are trying to achieve, while making sure that our farmers are looked after.”

My Opinion

All farmers need to report any issues with wild dogs to Agriculture Victoria.

If we expect to have any say on this issue then speak up, send photo’s, plaster them on social media.

Yes, it’s upsetting to see, but that is exactly the point. Those who are going to be making these decisions won’t like them either and neither will the city dwellers who have been emotively duped into thinking that wild dogs look cute and cuddly. 

This is a desperate political manoeuvre by a Labor government.

There is no democracy in this - it’s about gathering and paying off minorities in order to win the next election because Labor votes don’t normally come from the country - so they just won’t care until they run out of lamb to have with their mint sauce.

If this is seriously the direction that this state is going, then I am extremely nervous for what lies ahead.

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A petition regarding the Wild Dog Management Plan can be signed at change.org/p/wild-dog-management-program