Wild dog advice ignored as aerial baiting scrapped
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Wild dog advice ignored as aerial baiting scrapped

Local farmers will feel the effects of the Victorian Government’s decision to go against advice of the now disbanded Wild Dog Advisory Committee and not bait for wild dogs this autumn.

The Nationals Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said the Government would only bait in spring, and that it had effectively ignored advice from the Committee, which had strong East Gippsland representation – a committee that the government recently disbanded.

“Local farmers have said autumn is the best time to bait, because the pups are an easier target. While the cut to one aerial baiting program for the year is not good news, even worse news is that they are doing it at the wrong time of year,” Mr Bull said.

“An annual aerial baiting program will be held in spring, going against the committee’s advice to bait in both autumn and spring, or if only once, in autumn.

“It would appear decisions are being made in Melbourne by people who know next to nothing about the problem and who are not listening to local advice.

“This is a complex problem and it is not an easy solution, but it makes no sense to sack the source of local knowledge and go against its recommendations.

“Cancelling autumn baiting is the latest blow following the axing of the successful wild dog bounty, the sudden sacking of the community advisory panel, and months of limbo for the control program.

“Labor’s cuts are a total insult to our local producers who come under huge financial and emotional stress because of wild dogs.

“Wild dog control needs an integrated approach using all proven methods but Labor just keeps cutting, and they are undoing all the good work of the community-led Wild Dog Control Action Plan,” Mr Bull said.