Merino studs would 'leave the industry' if wild dog trappers reduced

Stud principal at Rock-Bank Merino, John Crawford, Victoria Valley, said sheep farmers would "leave the industry" if the state government's wild dog management plan ended in October.

He said that not only livestock or domestic animals would fall prey to wild dogs, but the presence of dingoes would drastically reduce the number of vulnerable species like the Malleefowl.

"It's simple - [wild dogs] kill sheep, calves and other livestock along with other smaller native animals," he said.

"Once you get the numbers starting up, dingoes and wild dogs will just span out because they will run out of food and keep pushing out to other areas.

"It's taken us well over 100 years to get them to a stage where they are manageable here."

Mr Crawford said continuing the plan was crucial, and would ensure that dog trappers working under it, especially in the Wimmera-Mallee, can be assured of their work after October.

"I just wish the Victorian Government find a spine and make a decision one way or the other," he said.

A Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) spokesperson did not respond to specific questions on the future of dog trappers in the state.

The government is also yet to confirm whether it plans to fill the vacancy of one Gippsland-based wild dog trapper who recently retired.

They said lethal and non-lethal control techniques were deployed to control wild dogs and a number of resources were encompassed within the program.

"We're supporting farmers to apply best practice management, including the deployment of lethal and non-lethal control techniques such as baiting, fencing and the use of guardian animals," the spokesperson said.

"The Wild Dog Program encompasses a number of resources and management activities, including wild dog management, community engagement, consultation, training, field days and wild dog management workshops."

Mr Crawford dismissed recent UNSW studies that found wild dingoes had less dog lineage than previously thought and urged researchers to travel to regional areas and understand what happens on-farm regarding wild dog management.

"This is just stupidity dreamt up from a few inner-city green professors who think they can tell us how to farm," he said.

"We've actually met with some of the animal rights people, but after two hours of talking with them, we just shook our heads and could not come to an agreement about this issue.

"They thought that farmers ran ewes and lambs in one big mob instead of splitting them up from each other, for example."

Stud Merino Sheepbreeders' Association president Alan Harris, who also breeds Merinos at Koole Vale, Costerfield, said if the plan was not renewed, Merino sheep and wool industries would be "going into the unknown".

He said putting the plan in jeopardy was beyond belief.

"[The plan] is not 100 per cent effective, but it does give the farmer better control and it's working better than what it was prior to the plan's existence," he said.

"I'm just disappointed that there seems to be no consultation with the people who this decision will affect most."

Victorian Farmers Federation Livestock Group vice president Peter Star said the wild dog program was also currently "very proficient for producers."

"I would say that if something is working, why would you want to change it?" Mr Star said.

"There has been a lot of parties working together on this, and since it's implementation a lot of landholders have been happy with how the program is running."

The calls for a decision also come after reports of the pest moving into bushland on the outskirts of Melbourne, attacking animals on peri-urban and hobby farms.

In parliament sitting last week, Member for East Gippsland Tim Bull has called on Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos to give some certainty about the plan.

Mr Bull said there needed to be changes to the three-kilometre livestock protection buffer on public land to hunt wild dogs "to get doggers into the wider bush to undertake their control programs."