May 15, 2001

The ongoing culling of the Dingoes on Fraser Island

Friends of the Earth Maryborough is very concerned about the ongoing culling of the Dingoes on Fraser Island. The question must be asked whether the QNPWS is planning to continue killing this rare Fraser Island icon until there is none left?

It is a fact that as dingoes are killed around camp sites and residential areas, other Dingoes will take their place. This has been proven this week.

There are also questions about the management regime for Dingoes on Fraser Island over the last few years: FoE would like to know if there has been a campaign by QNPWS to eliminate dingoes from Fraser Island over the last ten years, starting with the removal of their food source. Has the lacing of meat with a contraceptive been used as a management control?

The draft dingo management plan makes no reference to human interaction with Dingoes.

The ongoing program of eradication must stop immediately. For thousands of years Dingoes have lived in harmony with Aboriginal people, and more recently non Indigenous residents of Fraser Island. When Aboriginal communities were dispossessed 120 years ago the dingoes became reliant on wild horses, fish offal, and scavenging from refuse dumps as their major food sources. Since these food sources were removed, the Dingoes have relied on whatever food and scraps they can steal.

FoE is working with the traditional owners of Fraser Island toward an acceptable outcome and will be joining them on the island on Wed. 16th May.

For further information contact:

Ross & Karen Daniel
Ph: 0741231895