A snapshot of changes in graziers’ management and attitudes towards dingoes over 60 years
Lily M. van Eeden
A B C , Chris R. Dickman A , Mathew S. Crowther A and Thomas M. Newsome A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
B School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Box 352100, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: lily.vaneeden@sydney.edu.au
Pacific Conservation Biology 25(4) 413-420 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18089
Submitted: 12 December 2018 Accepted: 3 March 2019 Published: 30 May 2019
Abstract
Livestock producers and governments have managed predators to protect livestock for millennia. But in recent decades attitudes towards predators and their management have shifted from solely killing towards coexistence and even conservation. In Australia, a continent-wide survey of graziers conducted in the 1950s provides an opportunity to consider how attitudes and practices surrounding dingo management have changed over the last 60 years. We created a survey that repeated questions and themes from the 1950s study and sent this to 75 of the properties where the original survey had been completed. We received 23 complete or semicomplete responses. Ground-baiting and shooting continue to form a major focus of management on the focal properties, while fewer respondents used trapping and fencing in the current survey than in the 1950s. Ten properties had adopted either or both of two lethal methods (aerial baiting and hiring professional doggers) since the 1950s survey. Unlike the 1950s survey, three respondents used non-lethal methods only (animal husbandry or livestock guardian animals) and indicated that they support maintaining dingoes in the landscape. This change, albeit small, may suggest that attitudes towards dingoes by graziers have diversified from solely lethal control. We discuss these trends and consider the future of dingo management in Australia. In accordance with changing attitudes among some producers, we suggest that governments must now consider the diversity of approaches to managing livestock in the presence of dingoes and offer more training and support for those methods that are proven effective.
Additional keywords: environmental history, human–wildlife conflict, pest control, predator management, wild dog, sheep grazing.
References
Agarwala, M., Kumar, S., Treves, A., and Naughton-Treves, L. (2010). Paying for wolves in Solapur, India and Wisconsin, USA: comparing compensation rules and practice to understand the goals and politics of wolf conservation. Biological Conservation 143, 2945–2955.| Paying for wolves in Solapur, India and Wisconsin, USA: comparing compensation rules and practice to understand the goals and politics of wolf conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Agricultural and Environment Committee (2017). Barrier fences in Queensland. Report No. 35, 55th Parliament. Parliamentary Committees, Brisbane.
Allen, L. (2017). Is landscape-scale wild dog control the best practice? Australasian Journal of Environmental Management 24, 5–15.
| Is landscape-scale wild dog control the best practice?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Allen, B. L., and West, P. (2013). Influence of dingoes on sheep distribution in Austalia. Australian Veterinary Journal 91, 261–267.
| Influence of dingoes on sheep distribution in Austalia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23782018PubMed |
Bartel, R. A., and Brunson, M. W. (2003). Effects of Utah’s coyote bounty program on harvester behavior. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973–2006) 31, 736–743.
Bauer, H., Müller, L., Van Der Goes, D., and Sillero-Zubiri, C. (2017). Financial compensation for damage to livestock by lions Panthera leo on community rangelands in Kenya. Oryx 51, 106–114.
| Financial compensation for damage to livestock by lions Panthera leo on community rangelands in Kenya.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Binks, B., Kancans, R., and Stenekes, N. (2015). Wild dog management 2010 to 2014 – National landholder survey results. ABARES report to client prepared for Australian Wool Innovation Ltd, Canberra.
Clark, P., Clark, E., and Allen, B. L. (2018). Sheep, dingoes and kangaroos: new challenges and a change of direction 20 years on. In ‘Advances in Conservation through Sustainable Use of Wildlife’. (Eds G. Baxter, N. Finch, and P. Murray.) pp. 173–178. (University of Queensland: Brisbane.)
Decker, D. J., Organ, J. F., Forstchen, A. B., Jacobson, C. A., Siemer, W. F., Smith, C. A., Lederle, P. E., and Schiavone, M. V. (2017). Wildlife governance in the 21st century – will sustainable use endure? Wildlife Society Bulletin 41, 821–826.
| Wildlife governance in the 21st century – will sustainable use endure?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Defenders of Wildlife (2013). ‘Living with Wildlife in the Northern Rockies: Coexisting with Wolves in Idaho’s Wood River Valley.’ (Defenders of Wildlife: Washington, DC.)
Finch, N., Murray, P., Hoy, J., and Baxter, G. (2014). Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters. Wildlife Research 41, 76–83.
| Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Forsyth, D., Woolnough, A. P., Nimmo, D., Ritchie, E. G., Kennedy, M., Pople, A., and Watson, I. (2014). A comment on the influence of dingoes on the Australian sheep flock. Australian Veterinary Journal 92, 461–462.
| A comment on the influence of dingoes on the Australian sheep flock.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 25424756PubMed |
Harris, P. A., Taylor, R., Thielke, R., Payne, J., Gonzalez, N., and Conde, J. G. (2009). Research electronic data capture (REDCap) – a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. Journal of Biomedical Informatics 42, 377–381.
| Research electronic data capture (REDCap) – a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18929686PubMed |
Hewitt, L. (2009). Major economic costs associated with wild dogs in the Queensland grazing industry. Blueprint for the Bush & AgForce, report prepared for the Queensland State Government, Brisbane.
IBM Corporation (2016). ‘IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows.’ (IBM Corporation: Armonk, NY.)
Johnson, C. N., and Wallach, A. D. (2016). The virtuous circle: predator-friendly farming and ecological restoration in Australia. Restoration Ecology 24, 821–826.
| The virtuous circle: predator-friendly farming and ecological restoration in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Llanos, R., Travaini, A., Montanelli, S., and Crespo, E. (2014). Age structure of cougars (Puma concolor) hunted under the bounty system in Patagonia. Selective or opportunistic capture? Estructura de edades de pumas (Puma concolor) cazados bajo el sistema de remoción por recompensas en Patagonia.¿ Selectividad u oportunismo en la captura? Ecología Austral 24, 311–319.
López-Bao, J. V., Frank, J., Svensson, L., Åkesson, M., and Langefors, Å. (2017). Building public trust in compensation programs through accuracy assessments of damage verification protocols. Biological Conservation 213, 36–41.
| Building public trust in compensation programs through accuracy assessments of damage verification protocols.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Manfredo, M. J., Teel, T. L., and Henry, K. L. (2009). Linking society and environment: a multilevel model of shifting Wildlife Value Orientations in the western United States. Social Science Quarterly 90, 407–427.
| Linking society and environment: a multilevel model of shifting Wildlife Value Orientations in the western United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mcleod, R. (2004). Counting the cost: impact of invasive animals in Australia, 2004. Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control, Canberra.
National Project Steering Committee (2014). National wild dog action plan: promoting and supporting community-driven action for landscape-scale wild dog management. WoolProducers Australia, Barton, ACT.
Nie, M. A. (2003). ‘Beyond Wolves: the Politics of Wolf Recovery and Management.’ (University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN.)
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (2010). Oregon wolf conservation and management plan. Oregon Fish & Wildlife, Salem, OR.
Philip, J. (2018). The institutionalisation of poison: a historical review of vertebrate pest control in Australia, 1814 to 2018. Australian Zoologist , .
| The institutionalisation of poison: a historical review of vertebrate pest control in Australia, 1814 to 2018.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Productivity Commission (2005). Trends in Australian agriculture. Australian Government, Canberra.
Proulx, G., and Rodtka, D. (2015). Predator bounties in western Canada cause animal suffering and compromise wildlife conservation efforts. Animals (Basel) 5, 1034–1046.
| Predator bounties in western Canada cause animal suffering and compromise wildlife conservation efforts.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26479482PubMed |
QSR International (2017). NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Available at: https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/support-overview/downloads [accessed 8 March 2019].
Ripple, W. J., Estes, J. A., Beschta, R. L., Wilmers, C. C., Ritchie, E. G., Hebblewhite, M., Berger, J., Elmhagen, B., Letnic, M., Nelson, M. P., Schmitz, O. J., Smith, D. W., Wallach, A. D., and Wirsing, A. J. (2014). Status and ecological effects of the world’s largest carnivores. Science 343, 1241484.
| Status and ecological effects of the world’s largest carnivores.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24408439PubMed |
Shivik, J. A., Treves, A., and Callahan, P. (2003). Nonlethal techniques for managing predation: primary and secondary repellents. Conservation Biology 17, 1531–1537.
| Nonlethal techniques for managing predation: primary and secondary repellents.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Silva, J. P., Toland, J., Hudson, T., Jones, W., Eldridge, J., Thorpe, E., Bacchereti, S., Nottinghan, S., Thévignot, C., and Demeter, A. (2013). LIFE and human coexistence with carnivores. European Commission, Luxembourg.
Smith, B., and Appleby, R. (2015). Forging a new future for the Australian dingo. In ‘The Dingo Debate: Origins, Behaviour and Conservation’. (Ed. B. Smith.) pp. 301–316. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)
Smith, B. P., and Appleby, R. G. (2018). Promoting human–dingo co-existence in Australia: moving towards more innovative methods of protecting livestock rather than killing dingoes (Canis dingo). Wildlife Research 45, 1–15.
| Promoting human–dingo co-existence in Australia: moving towards more innovative methods of protecting livestock rather than killing dingoes (Canis dingo).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
van Bommel, L. (2013). Guardian dogs for livestock protection in Australia. PhD Thesis, University of Tasmania, Hobart. Available from: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/17608/
van Eeden, L. M., Crowther, M. S., Dickman, C. R., Macdonald, D. W., Ripple, W. J., Ritchie, E. G., and Newsome, T. M. (2018a). Managing conflict between large carnivores and livestock. Conservation Biology 32, 26–34.
| Managing conflict between large carnivores and livestock.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 28556528PubMed |
van Eeden, L. M., Smith, B. P., Crowther, M. S., Dickman, C. R., and Newsome, T. M. (2018b). ‘The dingo menace’: an historic survey on graziers’ management of an Australian carnivore. Pacific Conservation Biology , .
| ‘The dingo menace’: an historic survey on graziers’ management of an Australian carnivore.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wallach, A., Ramp, D., and O’Neill, A. J. (2017). Cattle mortality on a predator-friendly station in central Australia. Journal of Mammalogy 98, 45–52.
| Cattle mortality on a predator-friendly station in central Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wiles, G. J., Allen, H. L., and Hayes, G. E. (2011). Wolf conservation and management plan for Washington. Olympia, WA.
Wilson, M. A. (1997). The wolf in Yellowstone: science, symbol, or politics? Deconstructing the conflict between environmentalism and wise use. Society and Resources. International Journal (Toronto, Ont.) 10, 453–468.
