WILD DOG FUNDING UNDER THREAT

The National Farmers’ Federation is calling for urgent Federal Government funding to keep the national wild dog management program operating beyond September.

Funding for the National Wild Dog Management Coordinator expires at the end of September, with the National Wild Dog Action Plan due to lose funding a month later.

NFF President Hamish McIntyre says wild dogs cost Australian agriculture an estimated 302 million dollars a year, while also causing significant livestock losses and animal welfare concerns.

The National Wild Dog Action Plan is seeking 250-thousand dollars a year for five years to maintain the coordinator role and support regional travel, communications and administration.

The NFF says several industry bodies have already committed to co-funding the program, which provides a coordinated approach to wild dog control across jurisdictions.

Mr McIntyre says losing the national coordinator would risk undoing more than a decade of progress, with fragmented control efforts likely to increase livestock losses and place further pressure on rural communities.