Connor and Dash put Katherine to the sniff test in search of toxic weed

Two New South Wales-based sniffer dogs are in the Northern Territory hunting for a toxic weed. Read where they are.

Parthenium weed

A crack team of canine sleuths headed to Katherine this week to sniff out an invasive weed the Northern Territory weed management branch has been working with the agricultural industry to eradicate.

Springer spaniel sniff specialists Dash and Connor were collected by car from Port Macquarie and driven to Brisbane at the weekend, where they caught Monday’s flight to Darwin before being bundled into another car headed for Katherine.

Considered one of Australia’s worst weeds because of its invasiveness and potential to spread, parthenium was identified at a single Katherine property in 2018.

Since then Department of Lands, Planning and Environment weeds officers have been looking at ways to stop parthenium weed from spreading across the Territory.

Dog handler Steve Dalleywater with Connor, left and Dash.

Their attempts at eradication appear to have been successful, with no sightings of the weed recorded in the area since May 2023.

In Queensland, parthenium costs farmers and graziers more than $22 million a year in reduced production and increased management costs.

Parthenium weed is toxic to cattle and can taint meet from livestock that have ingested the weed.

Pollen from partenium weed can cause dermatitis, hay fever and asthma.

On his first trip to the Territory with Dash and Connor, handler Steve Dalleywater said the best outcome would be confirmation parthenium weed had been removed.

Employed by New South Wales-based Tate Animals, Steve said Dash and Connor were among the best dogs in the business based on their success rate and versatility.

Parthenium weed was identified near Katherine in 2018.

Connor, 10, specialises in sniffing out weeds including hawkweed and black knapweed as well as parthenium while Dash, 5, began searching for koalas after the 2020 east coast bushfires and has since broadened her skills base to include fire ants, rodents, amphibians and weeds.

“In Queensland parthenium weed is causing big problems through encroachment and in New South Wales it got transferred during the drought through hay runs and by organic chook food or machinery,” Steve said.

“We don’t know the source in Katherine, but we’ll spend a day on site and the dogs will go over the site. If they find anything they’ll pull up on the spot, actually sit and lie down with their noses on the weed.

“They’ll wait for us to come over and they’ll actually sit and lie down and put their nose on it, and once we confirm it’s the weed we’ll give them the ball as reward.”

Lands, Planning and Environment Minister Josh Burgoyne said together with the property’s managers, weed management branch officers alternate site inspections every two weeks.

He hoped the sniff tests would confirm their good work over a numbers of years.

“Hopefully they don’t find anything, but their work will be really important in ensuring the good work the weed’s branch has done in eradicating parthenium,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of hard work done to contain it and it’s wonderful to have Steve up here with Connor and Dash to hopefully confirm it’s eradicated from the Northern Territory for good.”

Originally published as Connor and Dash put Katherine to the sniff test in search of toxic weed