Dingo killings… again!
Sue Brooks May 10th, 2009
It was with sadness yesterday that once again I received news of more dingo killings. The number of dogs killed this year, I am sure, is higher than any year since the killings by EPA/DERM staff began. Stephen O’Grady has written a thoughtful editorial today in the Chronicle. I recommend it and sadly nod my head while reading it.
We are faced with a dilemma. On the mainland dingos are shot and killed routinely. On Fraser Island the dino is synonomous with a ‘natural and uniquely Queensland’ experience. Domestic dogs regularly injure and sometimes kill us human beings. I can’t help but feel that a dingo on Fraser Island only has to look sideways at a human these days and it is marked for extermination.
I will try to find out more details about how we can all provide input into the promised Dingo Management review. In the meantime can anyone travelling to the island keep children close by and be watchful. I have experienced dingos on Fraser Island specifically in Happy Valley prior to the building of the dreaded fences. These dogs did NOT hurt anyone but went about their business without a concern for us two legged creatures.
Someone once asked me if I would be afrad walking alone on the beach on FI. I replied that as long as I had a stout stick with me I would not be afraid of any wildlife. The only creature I would possibly fear would be a male of the homo sapien variety. Sorry to all you wonderful men out there but the only time in my life I have ever feared for my well being, was in the company of the aforementioned!
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I’m sick and tired of hearing of the actions of the Rangers on Fraser Island.
Not that long ago I heard a story that the then EPA was flying them over to the island daily at considerable cost because none of them wanted to live there. Why not?
Then we had the dingo fence saga.. try whacking a great big dirty fence through indigenous lands (or even remnant vegetation designated land for that matter) on the main land and you’d be looking at all sorts of penalties but apparently its ok to do it on Fraser.
Shoot an animal over here for no good reason and you’d have the RSPCA on your doorstep in a flash.. but apparently not on Fraser Island.
Then there’s the imaginary crocodile.. how many 1000s of dollars were wasted here, there and everywhere on crocodile warning signs? What about all the various sharks and other ‘predators’ that have been in our oceans for ever? Shouldn’t we have warning signs everywhere for them also?
We’ve become too much like the americans – we’re becoming too litagious to enjoy our country’s natural beauty. Are the EPA / DERN that paranoid of being sued because a dingo so much as looks at a tourist the wrong way?
Here’s food for thought:
“Put a lawyer out of work: Accept Risk, Accept Responsibility”.