Wild dog management review of Schedule 2 lands

The Pest Control Order (PCO) for wild dogs issued under the Rural Lands Protection Act 1998 requires all land managers to control wild dogs.

The wild dog PCO defines a wild dog as any dog, including a dingo that is or has become wild, but excludes any dog that has been kept in accordance with the Companion Animals Act 1998, the Exhibited Animals Protection Act 1986 and the Animal Research Act 1985 or any other legislation made in replacement of any of those Acts.

Wild dogs cause significant livestock losses, particularly along the Great Dividing Range where there are large areas of native forest. However the dingo is an iconic native species and there is a community expectation that dingos be conserved.

The wild dog PCO attempts to balance the conflicting objectives of dingo conservation and livestock protection through implementing stakeholder agreed management plans for areas known as Schedule 2 lands.

Schedule 2 lands are large areas of Crown lands as specified in PCO number 11 published in Government Gazette no 122 on 6th October 2006.

Occupiers of Schedule 2 lands fulfil their general destruction obligation under the PCO by implementing a wild dog management plan that is endorsed by the Rural Lands Protection Board and which addresses both control and conservation objectives.

This essentially means controlling wild dogs on the periphery of Schedule 2 lands where they impact on livestock but retaining dingos in core areas of Schedule 2 lands where further hybridisation with domestic dogs can be minimised.

There are 252 Schedule 2 lands comprising National Parks, Nature Reserves, State Recreation Areas, State Forest, Crown land and Reserves and Sydney Catchment Authority Land.

The need for wild dog control and the concept of Schedule 2 lands are not being reviewed. Rather, the review is being undertaken to ensure that the lands currently listed in Schedule 2 remain relevant to the management objectives of the order.

A working group comprising NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, NSW Department of primary Industries and State Council of the Rural Lands Protection Boards will review the submissions.

 

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Making a Submission

Interested persons are encouraged to contact their local Rural Lands Protection Board to discuss wild dog management plans currently in place for their area.

Written submissions can be sent to:

Manager Vertebrate Pests
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Locked Bag 21 Orange NSW 2800

Submissions must reach NSW DPI by close of business on 2nd August 2007. For further information contact the Manager Vertebrate Pests on (02) 6391 3539.