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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/01/scientists-demand-end-to-dingo-baiting-after-research-reveals-most-are-genetically-pure>
"Scientists are calling on governments to end baiting programs targeting
dingoes in national parks, to ditch the “inappropriate and misleading” term
“wild dog”, and to proactively engage with Indigenous Australians regarding
dingo management.
Dozens of scientists have written to the New South Wales, Victorian and South
Australian environment and agriculture ministers to push for changes to dingo
policies in light of new scientific research.
Dr Kylie Cairns, a conservation biologist at the University of New South Wales
and a key signatory of the letters, said government policy was out of step with
the latest research on dingoes in Australia.
A study she led, published in May, found that most canids in Australia are pure
dingoes and that dingo-dog hybridisation is rare. Dingoes are classified as
native species in all jurisdictions on the Australian mainland.
“It’s just not acceptable for a native species to be … killed in the manner
that we’re doing in national parks – and that is happening pretty much all
across the country,” Cairns said. “There is no other native animal that is
managed the way dingoes are in Australia.”
The letter to the NSW government details “extensive lethal control activities
including aerial baiting, ground baiting, aerial shooting, ground shooting and
trapping being carried out across national parks and conservation areas for the
management of ‘wild dogs’”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
