Wild dog control

[Music]
Hi, my name is Jake. I work on the Invasive
Pest Team in the North Coast Local Land Services.
I help landholders manage feral animals on their
property and the wild dog is one of the animals
that I help landholders to control. With any pest
species, it's important to undertake control when
you first see the signs of wild dogs before
the problem becomes a bigger problem. To do this,
you need to know what you're looking for. Let
me introduce to you the wild dog and the signs
you need to be looking out for on your property.
Wild dogs can have severe consequences on native
wildlife and livestock, particularly if the numbers
are allowed to breed up. We have had reports of
native animals like wallaby populations disappearing
when there are large numbers of dogs present.
Every year we receive reports of attacks on cattle,
sheep, horses and even pet or working dogs. The
psychological impacts of these can be quite severe.
It is important to be vigilant to protect native
wildlife and your livestock. Here are some of the
signs of wild dogs that you should be looking out for. [Music]
Howling is something you often hear before you see wild dogs.
You typically hear howling during the breeding
season in the autumn. You can often hear howling
late in the evening or very early in the morning,
but it can occur throughout the night or throughout
the day. Wild dogs breed usually in March and
April, with pups being born in August and September.
Wild dogs can have up to 10 pups in a litter,
but the average litter size is about five. Other
signs that you might see around your property
that indicate the presence of wild dogs can be
tracks, scats and rake marks. Look for wild
dog tracks around your property, along the roads,
animal pads and anywhere there might be soft soil,
and particularly after rain. Wild dog prints often
occur in the same areas where foxes and cats
occur. Wild dog prints are usually larger and
rounder than a fox print, and the front two
toes of the wild dog print can't be separated by a
straight line from the back two toes. Wild dog
prints are also deeper and heavier than fox prints.
Feral cat prints are smaller and rounder than
wild dog and fox tracks. Scats can also be located in
similar areas. Wild dogs will mark their territory
using scats. They can be identified from domestic
dog scats by large amounts of hair, bone, and
they often turn white with age. They're perched up
high on a tussock to catch the breeze so that the
scent travels a further distance, further indicating
the wild dog's territory. Wild dogs will often
Wild dogs will often
scratch the ground with their front and back legs
after urinating or defecating. When traveling
around your property, keep an eye on your pet or
your working dogs as they will often indicate
the presence of wild dogs on your property by
finding where wild dogs have urinated or
defecated, and they will often mark over the top of these
sites and then rake the ground as well as a
way of showing their dominance on the property.
Keeping an eye on your livestock is also a good
idea as they can also indicate to you the presence
of wild dogs on your property. Jittery, difficult
to handle, or difficult to move livestock indicate
that there may be wild dogs around your property.
Maimed animals can also indicate attempted attacks.
Cattle will also run through fences when being
chased by wild dogs. We get reports every year
about fatal attacks on poultry, sheep, pet
animals, working dogs, cattle, and even horses.
Wild dogs can also transmit diseases and
parasites such as Hydatid disease which causes cysts on
internal organs and require surgery, neospora
which can cause abortion in cattle, mange, and also
parvovirus which can be fatal to domestic dogs.
Dogs can also transmit rabies if it were ever to
get into the country.
It is important to do your
bit and protect our native wildlife and livestock.
If you see signs of wild dogs on your property
you can report it in one of two ways. You can go to
the Feral Scan website and upload photos and
location details or you can download the Feral Scan app.
You can also give us a call at North Coast Local
Land Services and a biosecurity officer will be
able to assist you with managing wild dogs on
your property. By doing this you are contributing to
mapping wild dogs across the North Coast and
this helps us manage the population in our district.
Remember that pest animal control is done best
over a large area so try and get your neighbours
involved. Remember the more properties that are
involved in wild dog control the better the outcome
will be for the entire district