Concerns raised over new Indigenous dingo 'management, conservation' forum

The Girringun Aboriginal Corporation recently announced the inaugural First Nations Dingo Forum will be held in Cairns in September.

The forum will bring together traditional owners, elders and Aboriginal rangers to discuss the current management and conservation strategies, as well as legislative measures around the culturally significant animal.

Girringun Aboriginal Corporation acting CEO Whitney Rassip said the forum would highlight the need for Aboriginal people to be included in conversations around management and conservation strategies.

"Currently dingo populations across the nation are in decline and we believe this is partly due to the current management controls being employed," she said.

However, Centre for Invasive Species Solutions national wild dog management coordinator Greg Mifsud said he was surprised the organisers believed dingo populations were in decline across the country.

"I would be interested to see what information there is to support that statement, as wild dogs and dingo numbers have been on the increase in recent years with the increased prey availability brought about by the above average rainfall and improved environmental conditions across most of the country," Mr Mifsud said.

The dingo has been regarded as a serious predator of domestic stock since early European settlement in Australia.

Since European settlement, domestic dogs have been released or escaped into the environment to cross with dingoes - these hybrids or crosses are colloquially called wild dogs.

The dingo is a category 3, 4, 5 and 6 restricted invasive animal under the state's Biosecurity Act 2014.

A permit to deal with dingoes may be given in limited circumstances.

According to the Girringun website, the forum aims to provide a unified Aboriginal voice across Australia to "advocate and influence change in policy across all legislations" relating to management of the dingo across all states of Australia except Tasmania.

It also states that it aims to create a First Nations national statement for the dingo with the insight to "form a First Nations national steering committee to develop best practice and bring dingoes back to country".

"Our aim is to create a better understanding of the dingo from a cultural perspective and advocate for a change in current management methods on country," Ms Rassip said.

According to Mr Mifsud, the National Wild Dog Action Plan did take into consideration the cultural value of wild dogs and dingoes to Indigenous people and recognised that those values were diverse and varied considerably between indigenous communities across the country.

"Engagement with indigenous communities and the cultural values of dingoes and wild dogs are considered when developing local area management plans. It is not for the national plan to make assumptions of what those values are," he said.

"It's very ambitious to think that the values of every First Nations community will be represented at the forum and that an agreed position on a national statement on the management and conservation of dingoes across Australia could be achieved over these two days without taking all of those viewpoints into account.

"In some instances, we have been asked by Indigenous groups to help develop management programs to control dingoes on country where they are negatively impacting on cattle production, while in other areas land and sea rangers control dingoes that are digging up sea turtle nests to eat their eggs."

The forum, sponsored by Humane Society International Australia and WWF Australia, will see "a range of speakers", including population geneticist Dr Kylie Cairns and Australian conservationist Dr Barry Traill.

The Australian government's threatened species commissioner Dr Fiona Fraser has been named as a guest.

Dr Traill and his team will use the forum to explore how the dingo and agriculture can co-exist.

"Many beef producers have found they have higher profits and healthier landscapes when they stop killing dingoes on their properties," Dr Traill said.

"We need to reconsider nationally the assumption that dingoes cause only costs and not benefits for farmers and graziers."

Mr Mifsud said the issues were complex and he hoped the information presented would be accurate.

"The organisers are looking to cover a lot of complex issues including legislation and current techniques employed to manage dingoes and wild dogs and I hope they get speakers that can provide evidence-based information on what is a very complex wildlife management issue," he said.

AgForce CEO Michael Guerin said Dr Traill's study only included three graziers but "may add value to our thinking about biodiversity and healthy landscapes".

However, he did acknowledge the toll dingoes took on on livestock, especially sheep.

"It's very hard to lamb with dingoes around. The outcomes of the lambs are normally pretty devastating," Mr Guerin said.

"You have similar issues with newborn calves - it's not as bad with cattle because they're a bigger animal - but it's still an issue that needs to be thought about in a rangelands production system."

On the broader topic, Mr Guerin said there were a lot of tough conversations going on as humanity thought about the future of the planet, coexistence and co-design, and shying away from those conversations provided worse outcomes.

"We see it across many elements of climate, biodiversity, landscapes or vegetation - [there are] many difficult issues where there is new and emerging science all the time - some of it contrary to the science we have accepted to now," Mr Guerin said.

"Fresh insights - from Aboriginal people in this case - they're all powerful contributors, and if all of the conversation is in the spirit of better outcomes for landscapes, then there is no downside to being involved."

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