SA best-practice wild dog control demonstration network

Summary

Wild dog attacks cost livestock industries in Australia $90 million annually. In 2018-19, they injured or killed 20,000 sheep in SA, costing the livestock sector $4 million. Wild dogs threaten the viability of the sheep industry, which employs 15,000 South Australians and has a value chain worth $1.5 billion per year.

This integrated R&D PDS aims to establilsh a network of producer-led wild dog control groups engaged in trials of locally tailored novel control approaches to deliver landscape-scale management and monitoring of wild dogs.

The landholder groups will have access to resources and technical support skills development in wild dog management, livestock productivity and business management. The outcomes of these groups will be used to produce published best-practise wild dog control materials and interactive tools.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are to:

1. Engage existing and new landholder groups to energise a network of at least 15 wild dog control groups to trial novel, data-driven approaches to wild dog management facilitated by cameras with artificial intelligence assisted software.
2. Create a demonstration network for best-practise wild dog control, with at least 15 groups of landholders (total of at least 100 properties, minimum 5 properties per group) covering over 3,000,000 ha.
3. Facilitate delivery of wild dog workshops to landholder groups by professional trapper trainers.
4. Support group access to resources for investing in business and leadership skills for driving productivity gains.
5. Complete a terrestrial survey, comprising 300 survey-days covering around 12,000,000 ha, to identify wild dog safe havens inside the Dog Fence of SA for management interventions.
6. Collect detailed data, via a survey tool, of individual landholders involved in the project to track their productivity gains relative to wild dog densities, workshop activities and trials, and business and skills investments by the groups.
7. Produce a comprehensive suite of best-practise wild dog resource materials, including case studies, online guides, and interactive maps and calculators.

Progress

This Integrated R&D Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project will test and demonstrate various best practices and methods for controlling wild dogs and increasing the productive efficiency of livestock businesses. The project is based around the formation of producer groups that will test novel technologies and practices while demonstrating best practice control measures. Groups will also undertake training in various topics relevant to increasing reproductive efficiency.               

During the first year of this project, significant work was undertaken to engage relevant stakeholders, form producer groups and develop group plans. 16 producer groups are now engaged in the project and planning activities to be trialled and implemented.