The decision to remove and euthanise all of the dingoes involved in the incident linked to the death of a Canadian backpacker on K’gari (Fraser Island) last week has sparked a range of reactions.
Queensland’s Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation, Andrew Powell, said it had been a tough decision but one he thought was the right call and in the public interest.
“K’gari Fraser Island remains open, and we are supporting our tourism operators as they continue to showcase the Fraser Coast as an incredible place to visit,” the Minister said in a statement.
The announcement follows the results of an autopsy into the death of 19-year-old Piper James, whose body was found shortly after she had gone for an early morning swim.
The dingoes involved in the incident will be culled. PIC: DETSI
“Rangers have closely monitored the pack of dingoes involved in the incident … and have observed some aggressive behaviour,” said a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation. “Following the initial autopsy findings, this pack’s involvement in the incident, and observations since, this pack has been deemed an unacceptable public safety risk.”
Dingoes involved in the incident will be humanely euthanised.
“Public safety is our top priority,” said the spokesperson.
However, the ABC reports that the preliminary assessment indicated the dingo bites found on the teenager’s body were most likely sustained after her death.
“The autopsy has found physical evidence consistent with drowning and injures consistent with dingo bites,” a spokesperson told the broadcaster.
The Save Fraser Island Dingoes group has labelled the Government’s announcement ‘a political decision made without consultation’.
“Initial autopsy results have revealed Piper James had water in her lungs consistent with drowning and injuries consistent with dingo bites, authorities are still unsure how she died and further testing is being carried out,” the group said. “But the Premier, David Crisafulli, and the Minister for the Environment, Andrew Powell, are not interested in waiting for the facts and have ordered that all dingoes on the beach that morning be destroyed.”
And some dingo experts have also warned that the decision to kill the 10-strong pack of the animals linked with the death could push the island’s population towards extinction while doing little to protect humans.
Dr Kylie Cairns, an expert on dingo genetics at the University of New South Wales, told the Guardian newspaper that she was ‘frustrated’, and felt like the scientific evidence on this population of dingoes was not being used in the decision making.
She said K’gari’s isolated dingo population had low genetic diversity and high levels of inbreeding, and – with only between 70 and 200 dingoes on the island – removing 10 was quite significant and could have a disproportionately large impact.
“At the moment [the dingoes] seem to be coping with this high level of in-breeding, but when you have a genetically constrained population it does not take much to push them into an extinction vortex,” Dr Cairns said.
The last person to have been killed by dingoes on K’gari was nine-year-old Clinton Gage who was attacked by at least two animals back in 2001.
There have been numerous negative interactions between dingoes and people on the island since then.
Following the tragedy, more rangers were sent to K’gari to increase patrols, campgrounds were closed, and a public safety education campaign extended.
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These tourists need to ask themselves, would they try to interact with lion.
Leave the dingoes alone – shift the people out of their way they are not there to entertain tourists who either can’t read the signs warning people how to behave or who choose to ignore them.
No ,the dingo is not the problem the humans are and probably more so the amount of people per year .
At the rate that the dingoes are being put down, in a year of so there won’t be a dingo problem – they will all be gone!
It’s not the dingoes at fault that they are starving it’s a lack of wild life on the island for them to hunt. Anyone with a brain can see that the dingoes will attack anything to stay alive. To many over educated bureaucrats trying to control something they have litte knowledge of. Employ genuine indigenous folk who understand the needs of wild life & who can give direction in dingoes well being.
Can’t be bad!
Damn silly this, if you go to India dingo’s are everywhere. It’s painfully obvious where they came from and they’re not our native dog. Our native dog was wiped out, the Tassie tiger.
Gary, they are two different breeds!
“Experts at Universities”,,, they know it all [not]. Whats more important, a persons life or a wild dog? Give me a break !!
Totally right! These ‘experts at Universities’ are a problem in many fields of commonsense! They got rid of the wild brumbies on Fraser, they need to get rid of the wild dogs on Fraser..both ARE introduced species, the brumbies were causing no danger to humans! Dingos are a dangerous pest! If the bed wetters that care so much, why not domesticate them, feed them, befriend them, everyone loves a friendly dog, take the threat of danger away! That’s what the natives do! Typical insanity taking notice of Greenies and bedwetters!
Euthanize is just a nice comfortable word for KILL!
You got that right
No natural predators, so man needs to step in frotime to time. m
The dingos should be left alone & the tourists banned
Tourist numbers to K’gari should be managed by escorted tours only, to safeguard both the Dingo & humans. No more culling of dingos
If the pack has an aggressive leader, then removing that animal (and if necessary any of its subordinates that follow its lead) may have merit, but killing the entire pack is using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. If the pack leaders are shot by human beings in front of the others, the rest of the pack will become much more wary of human contact and are highly likely to then keep their distance. Get people who have grown up with animals to make these decisions, not politicians or ‘lab jackets’ who lack hands-on practical experience with animals doing it.
A major part of the problem are the tourists who think it great to be able to get close to these wild animals which simply emboldens the animals into greater contact with less fear.
Most animals recognise that man is the most dangerous animal of all and will keep their distance as long as they are not encouraged by whatever means to come closer. It should be obvious to all that most of the attacks are on children or women, rarely if ever on fully grown men. There is an obvious reason for that (and yes, testosterone plays a part – I’ve observed that with rams and women & girls growing up on a farm): a man is recognisably more of a risk to the animal. Dingoes in particular are very intelligent creatures that learn very quickly from current circumstances around them. If the leaders are shot in front of the pack, they’ll scarper PDQ and stay clear in the future.
Hear hear – sensible reasoning.
Very well said.
No. The Fraser Is dingoes are the purest strain of dingoes in Australia. They are not the problem, people are. No matter how much they’re warned or how many signs there are people will ignore it all if it means getting a great “selfie” to post on social media. As for people saying they are skinny & starving that’s probably because a huge 41% of pet dogs are overweight, fat, & obese & that’s what people base their idea of a healthy dog on. I don’t for a minute think they’re starving, they are scavengers & will always be searching for food.
Keep the dingoes, and be more aware of them.
Get ride of the lot and change the name back to Frazer Island
Dingo,s are not a native animal. They were introduced by Asian fishermen and are a strain of the Asian wild dog. The early cave paintings have no record of a dog like animal.
Going over to K’gari on the ferry there are videos to watch relating to the dingoes & on how to be safe on K’gari. There is information & signs telling you how to be safe eg. don’t walk on your own, carry a stick provided at the Villages exits if going on a walk, watch children very closely, do not feed the dingoes etc.
This young girl was unfortunately out on her own putting herself at an increased risk.
The dingoes are wild animals, K’gari is their home, we are the visitors & we should respect them not kill them.