Agriculture minister Ros Spence addresses Little Desert dingo queries

Ros Spence has revealed the details on the animals at Little Desert Nature Lodge. See the latest.

Thursday, February 13

Victoria’s Agriculture Minister Ros Spence has addressed farmers’ questions about dingoes found in an enclosure at the Little Desert National Park.

Ms Spence, on the ABC Country Hour on Wednesday, said there were 11 dingoes kept at the Little Desert Nature Lodge, which Traditional Owners were caring for.

She said she understood they were domesticated animals with no plans for release into the wild.

“Of those 11 dingoes, five were rescued prior to the fire impacting the lodge. Following the fire, three were recovered from the site, and there were three deceased dingoes,” she said.

“Four of the rescued dingoes and all of the injured dingoes have been relocated to Zoos Victoria facilities, they’re receiving the appropriate care where needed.

“At no time were any of the dingoes loose in the park, and all have been accounted for,” she said.

Wednesday, February 12

Farmers are seeking answers from state authorities after an alleged dingo sighting in the Wimmera’s Little Desert.

The Weekly Times reported on Thursday that a dingo was spotted near the national park on January 21, before the Little Desert fire.

Lawloit farmer Alan Bennett said he had been contacted about the sighting before and after the recent bushfires in the area.

“The state government needs to be transparent about what this all means. They’re the ones who made the decision to remove the unprotection order to control wild dogs around the Big Desert,” he said.

The dingo unprotection order for North West Victoria was removed in September, making it an offence to destroy dingoes without authorisation.

A video submitted to The Weekly Times showed the animal in the bush, but sparked debate on whether it was a European red fox.

One expert with 20 years’ experience in wild dog management – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – told The Weekly Times they believed the footage showed a wild dog.

“It just looked like a dog. There wasn’t really any question for me,” they said.

“There’s a small possibility that it is [a fox] because you can’t see the back half of the thing, the tail would be a giveaway.

“It’s got a big chest, it’s got big forequarters, it’s the right colour, it has a grey muzzle. Everything says dingo except for the pointy nose.”

They said it wasn’t uncommon for dingoes to have pointy noses, and this time of year was “dispersal season”.

“Over summer they start to disperse, 100km is nothing for a dingo. It’s totally normal, expected, not unusual at all, for a dingo that looks like that to pop up in a place like that,” they said.

This picture is a file image.

Meanwhile, in a separate matter, firefighters attending the fire at Little Desert Nature Lodge, which was destroyed, spotted two dingoes in a fire-affected enclosure in late January.

The Weekly Times contacted the Little Desert Nature Lodge for further comment, but did not receive a response.

The Weekly Times also contacted DEECA regarding the dingoes at the lodge, its involvement with the fire response and wildlife monitoring efforts, and if it had had any reports of escaped or misplaced wildlife.

A DEECA spokesman said the conservation regulator did not comment on individual licences for privacy reasons.

Dingoes can be kept privately, or commercially under a wildlife display licence, or a wildlife demonstrator licence. A private licence allows the holder to possess, keep, breed, buy, sell and dispose of dingoes for private purposes.

In a letter to The Weekly Times, Deakin University professor in wildlife ecology Euan Ritchie said the dingoes were “contained within an enclosure at the Little Desert Nature Lodge with government approval”.

“The fire impacted these animals and they have now been temporarily relocated to other secure facilities while an alternative, long-term sanctuary is constructed,” he said.

Nhill farmer Andrew Colbert, who farms adjacent to the Little Desert National Park, said he had not previously seen dingoes near the Little Desert.

He hoped the relevant authorities would meet with community members at Winiam Hall.

“It (the dingoes in the enclosure) became public knowledge when the CFA went to put out the Little Desert lodge,” he said.

“I want them to explain where we’ve come from and where we’re going to, because at the moment there’s an array of different views and opinions floating around.”