National Wild Dog Coordinator Greg Mifsud (far right) consulting with producers in Victoria.
Livestock predators like wild dogs and foxes are a seemingly endless challenge for many producers, with the significant financial toll only adding to the distress.
As land use diversifies and ownership changes hands, building a collective effort to overcome predator numbers has become a priority for several communities.
Here, National Wild Dog Management Coordinator Greg Mifsud takes us through the 'action cycle' and outlines strategies producers can use to help protect livestock against predators.
The action cycle
Despite being an ongoing issue for producers across the country, Greg said the strength and knowledge of management and participation in control waxes and wanes from year to year, allowing predator populations to do the same.
"At the moment I'm seeing a 5–8-year cycle where groups are established and there is a really strong level of knowledge and effort, but as the crisis from impacts are managed, the level of control also drops off, leading to predators building in numbers again," Greg said.
"When land ownership changes, whether due to succession or people buying property, the depth of knowledge around how much work goes into predator management is often lost. In some cases, people moving into an area may not even know it's something they have to consider."
As well as leaving a gate open for rising predator numbers on those properties, neighbours can suffer too.
The increasing diversity of land use, including for mines, lifestyle blocks, or renewables, also means a difference in interest to manage local predator populations.
"It means where we can, we need to continue to raise awareness of the impact and resources available."
Greg recommends the National Wild Dog Action Plan as the best source of information for producers to use and share.
Practical ways to improve baiting
While a concentrated effort within a community is usually most effective, Greg said in cases where that isn't possible, there are still effective strategies to implement.
Wild dogs and foxes are creatures of habit and will use the same travel routes and corridors within the landscape. These include:
- vehicle tracks and fire breaks, particularly at junctions or where they lead to water
- ridgelines and valleys
- on the edges of crops in patches of native vegetation or grassland
- dry creek beds, creeks and drainage lines
- pay particular attention to these corridors where they exist on the boundaries between properties.
Noting these frequently visited areas, he shared four key steps to improve baiting:
- Choose baiting sites where the predators are likely to find them; more isn't necessarily better!
- Mark and record bait sites so they can be easily recognised and checked. Old ear tags or flagging tape work well.
- Monitor and replace baits as they're taken, especially for foxes.
- Once baits taken decline, use other controls (i.e. shooting or trapping) to remove any animal still around.
While these strategies can be used for both wild dogs and foxes, Greg said they require different levels of attention, particularly for sheep producers.
"When it comes to foxes, implementing a replacement baiting program 4–6 weeks before lambing will get rid of the foxes that are residents on your place, and any that might come from the neighbours."
This approach has led to a major increase in productivity in lamb survival rather than the traditional approach of putting out one lot of baits just before lambing.
"With dogs, however, it needs to be an ongoing program, because you never know when they're going to turn up.
"Unlike foxes that can have a large impact on small lambs over a short space of time, wild dogs will attack and kill all age groups of sheep and goats."
Greg said baiting in coordinated programs as well as small amounts of targeted baiting, trapping and shooting, may be necessary to minimise wild dog impacts.
"In cattle country, it's a numbers game. Manage the population and keep them low through seasonal baiting programs and deliver target control before calving and weaning when young stock are at their most vulnerable," he said.
Quantifying success
Although evident when they're at large, the population numbers of predators are often difficult to quantify.
"You'll rarely find a fox or dog carcase – they take the bait and die elsewhere," Greg said.
If predators have been consistently taking baits, then baits being left for longer periods of time is a promising sign of a decline in numbers.
Measuring against the damage is another indicator of numbers.
"It's useful to know your data, for example, lamb survival rates, so you can form a baseline for when you might have an issue, or when that issue is dealt with.
"Understanding and knowing the signs of wild dog and fox activity is also important."
Reporting predator sightings on the FeralScan app also helps producers and the community to monitor numbers.
Knowing the predator and understanding how to apply best practice control crucial to improving animal health and productivity.
