Claim dingoes being backyard bred and sold as kelpies

Dingoes have been kept in a Melton unit, with Victoria’s peak wildlife protection authorities failing to act, even after they were let loose on suburban streets, it’s been claimed.

Dingoes have been kept in a Melton unit, with Victoria’s peak wildlife protection authorities failing to act, even after they were let loose on suburban streets, it’s been claimed.

It’s further been claimed the person responsible for keeping the dingoes in Melton has this year started breeding them with domestic dogs, to create and sell hybrid dogs.

Victorian dingo rescuer Tehree Gordon said in 2021 the dingoes and dingo crosses kept in the Melton unit “destroyed the unit because they wanted to get out and do dingo behaviour” and the owner “couldn’t cope, so he just opened his door and let them out on the street”.

Ms Gordon said the animals were picked up by the local council and impounded, after which the man’s ex-partner collected them and moved them into her own unit. She also discovered she could not manage.

A spokesperson for the Victorian government Conservation Regulator said it received and assessed information alleging wildlife crime, including illegal possession and trade, from a variety of sources, and each report was carefully considered on its merits.

“We have no evidence of dingoes being illegally kept and bred in the Melton area,” she said.

“We take all allegations of wildlife crime seriously and rely on information from the public to investigate, such as locations, addresses, dates, and descriptions of people and wildlife.

“Dingo-dog hybrids are classified as domestic animals and any questions regarding the regulation of their ownership should be directed to local councils.”

The Melton council has been contacted for comment.

It’s been claimed dingoes and hybrids were kept in a Melton unit, then let loose. Picture: Getty

The president of the Jirrahlinga Dingo Conservation & Wildlife Education Centre in Chewton, Ms Gordon, said the dingoes eventually came to her sanctuary in central Victoria.

“Then I heard he was doing it (keeping, breeding and selling dingoes) again this season,” Ms Gordon said.

“So I rang DELWP and said ‘he is selling these puppies as kelpies again’. They said ‘well if he says they are kelpie-cross, hybrids, we can’t do anything about it’.”

The Victorian Conservation Regulator on Tuesday said it was investigating “several dingo-related allegations, including unlawful possession”.

A spokesperson for the Conservation Regulator told the Herald Sun that while it was “not aware of any trend” involving the illegal breeding and selling of dingoes, its officers were currently assessing several allegations, including over their unlawful possession.

“As these matters are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to provide further information,” she said.

“It is illegal to keep, breed, and sell dingoes unless you hold a valid dingo licence as issued by the Conservation Regulator. This authorisation includes strict conditions to ensure animal welfare and public safety, including enclosure requirements There is no limit on the number of dingoes a licence holder can keep so long as they have appropriate enclosures.”

A dingo family. Picture: David Caird

A dingo on K'gari. Picture: Liam Kidston

Dingoes, like all native wildlife, are protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act.

It is illegal to possess, breed, or trade dingoes without authorisation, and they must be obtained from a licenced, lawful source.

It is also a serious offence to deliberately breed dingoes with a domestic dog breed to create hybrids, and offenders face penalties of up to $46,154 if convicted of doing so.

It comes as claims are made that dingoes are being backyard bred, with one such breeder recently allegedly discovered with more than 40 inside their home.

Ms Gordon said her sanctuary had received “an influx” of dingoes in terrible condition from that property and revealed it was “an absolute nightmare”, to rescue them and move them to her Chewton property.

“We’ve had an influx — more than we could ever imagine have come through our door needing urgent attention. The truth is, without any sugar coating, we need vital funds for their vet bills and for their ongoing care,” she said.

“Over the last few months, the need to rescue dingoes has significantly increased … this includes pregnant mums and also puppies including those unfortunately from backyard breeders. Too sad for words. Normally in pretty terrible conditions and to be honest that’s probably being kind.

“We’ve even rescued those from people that have been selling them as kelpies … just the other day, one lot came from a house that had over 40 dingoes inside the house.”

Ms Gordon said she was desperately trying to raise funds to save the dingoes.

A purebred kelpie from Maryborough.

A dingo on K’gari (formerly Fraser Island).

The puppies had come in an “amazing” array of colours, she said.

The Herald Sun has approached the Victorian government and Conservation Regulator for comment.

Agriculture Victoria has said dingoes cannot be “reliably visually distinguished” from some other dogs, especially wild dogs, but behave very differently.

Dingoes — which date back thousands of years in Australia — are a threatened and protected species under the law.

It is an offence to own a dingo without holding an appropriate licence under the Wildlife Act.

According to the Australian Dingo Foundation there is a misbelief that the dingo was once a domestic dog, before going wild in Australia.

“That is totally incorrect. The dingo has always been a wild canid, which developed as the wolf of Australia … the dingo does not need to live in a pack and be taught to hunt to survive. The dingo has prey drive in-built as instinctive behaviour (and) is a natural, solitary predator. Pure dingoes, like wolves, are still locked genetically into annual breeding cycles.

“They also will fit in with social pack hierarchy, as does the wolf, but this is a learned behaviour,” it states on its website.

A dingo now at Jirrahlinga sanctuary.

A rescued dingo pup at the Jirrahlinga Dingo Conservation and Wildlife Centre.

In world-leading research, scientists at Melbourne’s La Trobe University last year released the results of their sequencing of the genome of a pure desert dingo called Sandy Maliki.

The research, published in the esteemed journal Science Advances, revealed pure dingoes were in fact an “intermediary” between wolves and domestic dog breeds.

Lead researcher on the study, Professor Bill Ballard, said cracking the iconic Australian animal’s genetic code was a huge breakthrough.

“It gives us much clearer insight into how the dingo evolved – which is fascinating from a scientific point of view, but also opens up all sorts of new ways to monitor their health, and ensure their long-term survival,” Prof Ballard said.

Dingo survival was critical to maintaining a healthy and balanced ecosystem in Australia as dingoes were the country’s “top order predators”, meaning they influenced everything in their environment, he said.

If dingoes aren’t given the protection they deserve, it will upset the country’s ecological balance – potentially leading to environmental issues like erosion and species extinction,” Prof Ballard said.

One of the key differences between dingoes and domestic dogs was the number of copies of the pancreatic ‘amylase’ gene each had, he said.

“A pure dingo has only one copy of the amylase gene, whereas domestic dogs have multiple copies – which we show influences the gut microbiome and, we predict, affects what dingoes eat,” Professor Ballard.

“Based on this new knowledge, we hypothesise that dingoes are far less likely to eat farm animals, including sheep. If we’re correct, what farmers currently assume are dingoes killing their stock, are likely to be feral, wild dogs,” he said.

Sandy Malaki – the pure desert dingo that was part of the study – was discovered as a three-week old pup by a roadside in the central Australian desert near the Strzelecki Track, with her sister and brother.

Scientists lined up Sandy’s genome against a Greenland wolf, and five domestic dog breeds including the German shepherd, and the world’s oldest known dog breed, the Basenji.

One major difference between domestic dogs and dingoes was that pet dogs had evolved multiple copies of a gene called AMY2B that allowed digestion of starchy foods, Professor Ballard said.

This was probably because they started eating rice after humans made use of crops.

Dingoes, in contrast, had a low-starch diet that mainly comprised marsupials and reptiles, and only had a single copy of this gene, similar to wolves and some arctic dog breeds, he said.

Dingoes at the Jirrahlinga Dingo Conservation and Wildlife Centre in Chewton.

A rescued dingo pup being released into its enclosure in Chewton.

The rescued dingo pups are in a surprising array of colours.

In 2019, researchers at the University of Sydney found no genetic evidence that pure Australian kelpies shared any canine ancestry with a dingoes, despite the Australian bush myth that they descended from them.

In reality, the kelpie was brought to Australia in the late 1800s from Scotland, where they were derived from the Scottish smooth collie or farm collie.

Australian cattle dogs – or heelers – are, however, descended from crossing other breeds many years ago with dingoes.

How dingoes differ from domestic dogs

• To keep a dingo as a pet you must hold a dingo licence.

• The dingo is a subspecies of the wolf and believed to have been introduced to Australia about 5000 to 10,000 years ago.

• The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia. It is both culturally important to indigenous people and valued as an iconic Australian species.

• Dingoes are different from pet dogs in that they behave differently and will bond quickly with their owners but seldom with other people.

• A dingo-dog hybrid is the result of crossing of a domestic dog with a dingo.

• Underthe Wildlife Regulations 2019 it is an offence to deliberately breed a dingo with a dog. Ecologists believe that the greatest threat to the dingo in Victoria is hybridisation with domestic dogs.

• To keep a dingo-dog hybrid you need to register with your local council.

• Pure dingoes cannot be reliably visually distinguished from wild, domestic dogs or hybrids, but genetic tests can distinguish between these three groups.

• You can walk your dingo in public but they must be on a leash.

• Australian cattle dogs — or heelers — are descended from crossing domesticated dogs with dingoes.

• Dingoes have consistently broader heads, and longer muzzles than dogs or wolves. Their pelage (coat) has a wider range than any species of wolf – gold, yellow, ginger, white, black, black-and-tan and sable are all natural dingo colours. They have erect ears and their DNA is different to dogs and wolves too.

• The dingo is Australia’s largest mammal carnivore, with canine teeth longer than those of a domestic dog.

The Conservation Regulator said any Victorians who suspected wrongdoing regarding dingo possession or breeding, they should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.