Community
20 February, 2025
Dingoes under the spotlight
A FULL report on the future of dingoes in Port Douglas is being prepared for shire councillors.
The council at last week’s meeting accepted a petition with 1341 signatures.
Chief executive officer Scott Osman told the meeting that a petition was received by the council by email on January 3, 2025 regarding the council’s policy relating to dingoes.
“The petition calls for:
The immediate removal of traps targeting dingoes in Port Douglas
A shift in council policy away from automatic baiting and killing – a strategy of relocation if they are invading public spaces
Increased public education on safely coexisting with dingoes,” he said.
“The petition has also been sent to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the Parliament of Queensland.”
His recommendation, accepted by councillors, was that the council receives the petition ‘Let sleeping dingoes live … oppose capturing and killing’ and it be referred to the chief executive officer for consideration, investigation and report to the council.
Mr Osman said the report would ascertain the differences between native dingoes and wild dogs.
He said there were clear classifications between dingoes and wild dogs and it also depended upon where they were located.
Port Douglas resident Rosie Wang is behind the petition.
“I am writing regarding a petition that I started regarding the policy of Douglas Shire Council in regard to its policy of exterminating dingoes,” she said.
Ms Wang said the petition with more than 1000 signatures urged the council “to reconsider their policy and to have a more holistic view”. “Signage to avoid feeding (they were only fed this time to keep them from being trapped) and if (the) council avoids them and people avoid them then they will move on ... alive.
“You say you deal with them as a biohazard and yet the Queensland Government are protecting them as an Indigenous species, so there is a basic conflict within local and federal government on how these animals should be viewed.”
Farmer Barney McBride of Tara Hill Stud, Craiglie, said dingoes had killed a prized rooster and several special breeds of ducks on his property.
He said the latest attack on his poultry was in broad daylight with traffic and people only 20m away and he was worried about new-born calves. Mr McBride said he would be grateful if the dingoes were relocated away from people and valuable livestock, including “poor defenceless chickens and ducks”.
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