Aerial baiting is one of the tactics used to reduce wild dog populations.
This time though, instead of using fresh meat to bait the dogs, a bait called DOGGONE will be trialled.
The Eyes on the Rim project will monitor wild dogs and their impact on endangered species.
The project was explained by the Department of Primary Industries at a community talk at Mallanganee Memorial Hall last month.
Invasive species officer Dr Paul Meek said they had been using cameras to monitor dogs, cats and quolls for the past three years.
“There are thousands of cameras across NSW,” Mr Meek said.
The Eyes on the Rim project covers a large area from Koreelah, Tooloom, Legume down to Cambridge Plateau.
“Satellite GPS radio collaring on dogs will help us see how they are using the landscape,” Mr Meek said.
“Monitoring is critical to any good control plan.”
The plan is to trap 30 dogs and put GPS collars on them. This is to see how far they travel.
Most dogs range in a 60–70 square kilometre area.
PhD student Ellen Gooch will be studying the project to see how manufactured baits break down over time.
She’ll be asking questions such as – How long does the 1080 stay in the landscape, what is the risk to private property owners? Mr Meek said.
Transmitters will be put in the baits to see where they land.
DOGGONE has been on the market for a long time, Mr Meek said.
“But it has never been used from the air.
“The baits melt in the heat, and they are a soft bait,” he said.
Rangers will start trapping dogs in Koreelah in November.
“We’ll monitor the dogs through summer and see what happens when they are baited.”
No dogs have been collared yet in Cambridge Plateau, there are only cameras monitoring the dogs.
Twenty dogs will be trapped and collared at Cambridge Plateau.
The end date of the project is 2026.
The aerial baiting of DOGGONE will happen in May–June next year.
This article appeared on indyNR.com on 7 October 2024.
