Dog trapper with forestry in his blood
From the Summer 2006 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
It comes from his family’s connection with Tumbarumba, a forestry town, where the Goldspink family are part of the fabric – the history – of the region.
Mark’s dad Bill worked most of his life with ‘the Forestry’ (Forests NSW), as did his uncles and his brother Gordon. Family involvement goes back to the days when trees were felled by hand with cross-cut saws instead of today’s harvesting machines.
Mark has worked with Forests NSW for the past three years as a feral pest control officer. He is dedicated to minimising the impact of feral animals on wildlife and properties neighbouring State forests.
His eldest daughter Billie-Jo is a forester with Forests NSW at Batemans Bay, and Mark could not be more proud of her recent graduation from the Australian National University.
“She’s always threatening that she will soon be my boss,” he said.
Even Mark’s 16 year old son, Dallas, has been out in the forests on work experience.
Mark feels he is well qualified for the trapping job.
“As a family we have always been shooters and fishers, and we used to trap rabbits for a commercial rabbit busi-ness based at Tumbarumba – in fact there were three businesses in those days.”
“I learnt how to track, trap and read the bush for signs of feral animals from my father, grandfather and uncles.”
To date, he has trapped 71 wild dogs and poisoned many more. In his first year with Forests NSW, he trapped 33 dogs. This year, so far, he has only caught eleven – the numbers appear to be declining, an indication that his work is effective.
“We have not had a stock kill on any of the properties neighbouring Forests NSW land in the Tumbarumba area since November 2004,” Mark said.
He uses five of his own dogs to locate the scent of a wild dog and indicate where he should put his traps. The traps are no longer steel jawed; they are rubber, which is a much more humane and effective method of trapping.
Mark uses urine from his dogs and some secret ingredients to create special concoctions to attract the wild dogs to the traps.
“When wild dogs kill, it is devastating for the farmer and awful to see the damage they do to stock.”
“When I eliminate a dog which has been killing, the look of appreciation on the cockie’s face makes the job worthwhile and very satisfying,” Mark said.
“I take a real pride in my job. My wife would tell you that if I get a dog that is troubling me, I will be constantly thinking about what I will do to outsmart that dog.”
“It takes over my life. It’s part of the job because every wild dog is different – they don’t grow old by being silly,” he said.
Public Affairs & Media, Albury
