Improved Beef Productivity through Predator Control

Summary

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) is designed to demonstrate improved calf survival and productivity gains in beef enterprises through delivery of best practice wild dog management.

Objectives

By November 2025, in the Banana Region of Central Queensland:

1. All core and observer producers will understand their baseline herd reproductive performance and identify the size and timing of reproductive losses between conception and weaning.

2. All core and observer producers will have implemented a vaccination program to ensure reproductive losses are not due to preventable diseases.

3. Core producers will demonstrate a 5% reduction in calf damage from wild dogs. Calf damage includes bite evidence on hindquarters, hamstrings, shoulders, neck, tail and ears as well as tears in skin or ears. Damage will be identified through visual assessment of the animals when they come into the yards for branding and weaning. In paddock assessments will also be recorded if seen at the time.

4. 80% of core producers will implement best practice wild dog management through control methods such as baiting, trapping and shooting.

5. Achieve a 3% decrease in the prevalence of hydatids in core producer meat processed at Teys Biloela.

6. Implement a series of skills and training development activities to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of the 100% of core producers as well as 60% of observer producers in best practice wild dog management.

7. Engage Teys Biloela to include Animal Health Summaries in feedback data for livestock producers.

8. Conduct a field day and other activities in years 3 and 5 of the project to showcase the results and encourage adoption of key practices by 50 attending producers.

9. Increase in pregnancy and weaning rates through the adoption of best practice wild dog management techniques. Baseline pregnancy and weaning rates will be recorded before commencement of the project to clearly demonstrate any increase in rates throughout the life of project.

10. All producers will have an understanding of economic tools available to assess beef business performance.

Progress

The Improved Beef Productivity Through Predator Control (IBPPC) project aims to demonstrate improved calf survival and productivity gains in beef enterprises through the delivery of best-practice wild dog management in the Banana region of Central Queensland. Kate Woolley, the project manager advised that since January 2024, the PDS group has shown a large increase in the amount of data being captured in the Feral Scan app, noting that one farming family has now added two additional groups to the app to account for their other two properties, and has enlisted her family and other staff members to report all wild dog activity and control efforts into the app.  

This producer has also utilised funds provided through the PDS project to purchase additional monitoring cameras and foothold traps for use at their properties. The monitoring cameras purchased have increased their wild dog control efficiency as they can now check the monitoring camera photos in the field rather than back in the office, ensuring that if the camera is not capturing the correct photos, it can be dealt with sooner, and if wild dogs are being captured in the area, control efforts can be targeted in that area sooner. 

The group are in the process of organising a supervised tour at Teys in Biloela to gain a better understanding of what the processors are identifying on the kill floor and to see the results of how hydatids affect the offal of the livestock.