Significant work on replacing the SA Dog Fence in the state's north has seen dog attacks on SA sheep flocks drop dramatically but there is a new threat- wild dogs roaming in from the east.
Earlier this month the Vic government announced it was ceasing all baiting in the north west of the state to protect the dingo which a report had found was close to extinction, with only about 40 dogs remaining.
The move has taken the SA government and sheep industry by surprise as they were not consulted first.
Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven says she has written on several occasions to the Victorian Agriculture Minister Ros Spence raising concerns about the potential for the change of approach to wild dog management and the impact on SA's livestock industry.
"The Victorian Government should be engaging with stakeholders, including in SA, and detail how our producers and regional communities will be protected from the scourge of wild dogs," she said.
Ms Scriven is also questioning the science behind the decision. She says she has been advised that the decision has been made based on one research paper funded by the Australian Dingo Association and "contested by dingo experts around the country".
Ms Scriven said the eradication of dogs inside the SA Dog Fence remains a priority of the state government. More than 900 kilometres of the Dog Fence have been rebuilt with state and federal government and industry money since the project started. The remaining 700km is due for completion in June 2025.
Box Flat Wild Dog Control committee chair Richard Halliday says they will continue to push for a meeting and communication although it has been made much harder without a Cross Border Commissioner to help facilitate this..
"They have made some decisions without consulting with the people this will affect so now we really need to be having a rational discussion about the challenges it brings," he said.
The Vic government is offering affected north west Vic producers $550,000 for guardian animals such as Maremma dogs to protect their flocks and exclusion fencing but Mr Halliday says this will not go far at all, with exclusion fencing alone costing about $15,000 per kilometre.
The Box Flat Wild Dog Control Program has been very successful keeping wild dog numbers down in the Ngarkat Conservation Park with only a few isolated attacks on sheep flocks neighbouring the park, but Mr Halliday says this has also been reliant on Vic authorities controlling the dogs on their side of the border.
Ms Scriven says the state government is still considering its option but Mr Halliday says SA may be forced to make the Border Track its first line of defence which will be way more costly than the current program.
In 2023-24 the SA Sheep Industry Fund contributed about $4000 to the Murraylands and Riverland Landscapes Board who manage the Box Flat program which includes baiting in the park and fox and dog baiting by landholders adjoining Ngarkat. .There has also been some reserves set aside to employ a dogger when needed.
"It is difficult to see a few feet in front of you in some of those parks ( Little Desert and the Sunset National Park) so how do they know how many dogs there are out there," he said.
"They (The Vic govt) are saying they are at risk of extinction if baiting continues but here in SA, even if this is the case, we know from experience how quickly the population can build up."
The Vic government was contacted for comment but did not respond by Stock Journal's deadline.
