Farmers from across the state have expressed their overwhelming opposition against a plan to reintroduce dingoes and hybrid dogs onto Victorian Crown land.
About 170 people attended the Dunkeld meeting on Monday, with farmers travelling from all corners of the state to express their concern about the controversial plan.
The meeting was called after the Inquiry into ecosystem decline in Victoria proposed to reintroduce dingoes into "suitable Victorian ecosystems" to assess ecological benefits.
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The plan, which would be designed with input from ecologists and dingo experts, also urges the government to phase out the use of 1080 baits to control invasive species, and instead promotes "more effective and humane methods".
Former three-term Southern Grampians Shire mayor and Hamilton red meat and cropping farmer Don Robertson chaired the meeting, and said he was surprised how far people had travelled to show their opposition to the proposal.
"We had enough science in the discussion to show that it's terribly hard to contain dingoes by any type of fencing and the obvious detail is that floods and fires disrupt control measures such as fencing," he said.
"As do the other native species such as kangaroos, wallabies and wombats which can burrow under fencing, and that creates an avenue for dogs to escape."
Rock-Bank Merino and Poll Merino stud principals John and Rhonda Crawford, Victoria Valley, organised the Dunkeld meeting and said the quorum generally opposed the reintroduction of dingoes and hybrid dogs.
"A majority do not support this proposal in any shape or form," Mr Crawford said.
"It's like releasing the cane toad again because you're not going to be able to hold them."
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Guest speakers at the meeting included Victorian Farmers Federation Wimmera branch president Graeme Maher, Liberal Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur and Southern Grampians Shire councillor Mary-Ann Brown, who all voiced their concern over the proposal.
At the meeting, 164 people voted 'no' to the reintroduction of dingoes and dingo/wild dog hybrids in any park or reserve in Victoria, with only a handful of people abstaining from the vote.
More than 1500 people have signed hard copy and online petitions to stop the plan from going ahead.
A motion passed at the meeting endorsed the Crawfords to write on behalf of those present to Premier Daniel Andrews and relevant ministers stating "complete opposition".
"The government hasn't decided one way or the other yet, but these proposals that have been put up do not stack up in any part of Australia," Mr Crawford said.
"The government announced there would be no dingoes released into the Grampians, and they ought to be applauded for that.
"If they are going to be true to form, then they shouldn't release them into other ecosystems in Victoria or parks for experiments because they won't work and they will take out an enormous amount of mammals and livestock."
The inquiry report by 10 MPs on The Environment and Planning Committee is set to be considered by the state government before the end of June.
However, some MPs who sit on the committee and voted against adopting the recommendations around dingoes and dogs initially, such as Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath, say the plan lacks understanding and insight.