Scenic Rim Regional Council, Media Release, 21 March 2023
Scenic Rim Regional Council is set to put the bite on wild dogs with its biannual baiting program ready to roll out mid-April.
The program, which uses sodium fluoroacetate baits more commonly known as 1080, assists owners of larger land holdings in managing pest animals which not only pose a threat to native wildlife but also pets and other domestic animals.
Division 5 Councillor Marshall Chalk, a fourth-generation beef and dairy farmer at Carneys Creek, encouraged fellow agriculturalists and other property owners impacted by wild dogs and feral pigs to get behind the program for the benefit of the wider region.
“These baits have proved very effective in previous years in assisting landowners in our region to control wild dogs, which are responsible for stock losses as well as the destruction of our beautiful native wildlife,” he said.
“We live in one of the most spectacular areas of natural beauty, which is also a key centre of agricultural production, and the negative impacts of wild dogs cannot be underestimated.
“I share the concerns of landowners around the use of baits, and the new compliance standards that have been introduced recently, however we all must work together to get the best results to control this problem.
“I will be participating in the baiting program myself, and I encourage all my fellow landowners in the Scenic Rim to do the same.
“Landowners may have seen baits being poorly managed or used improperly in the past, which is why this new program has been implemented, to mitigate these concerns moving forward.
“Council’s program is carefully controlled and uses a pesticide that has been deployed across Australia since the early 1960s and which has proven to be the most effective and humane way of dealing with wild dogs without impacting other species.”
Council generally requires properties to be greater than 100 acres in size before it will supply baits to landowners and those who are eligible must be able to comply with all legislative conditions of use of the baits.
New participants in the program, and those who have not attended a baiting station in the past two years, must contact Council to determine their eligibility and be informed of current legislative requirements.
Landowners can also now access 1080 commercially to manage their own pest control measures on their properties for feral pigs as well as wild dogs.
To increase the effectiveness of wild dog control, it is best practice to coordinate with neighbouring properties to ensure the maximum number of wild dogs in an area is exposed to the baiting program.
Mayor Greg Christensen, who was born and raised in the Scenic Rim, also understands the problems pest animals pose for producers as well as the environment.
“Wild dogs can travel up to 30 kilometres a day and cross into other local government areas, so it is vital for us to work collaboratively with other councils and the Queensland Government to ensure an effective and coordinated approach,” he said.
“The more people we have engaging in this program, the more successful it will be.”
Council has begun distributing information packs on the baiting program, which are available by contacting its Regulatory Services section by phoning (07) 5540 5111.
