[ad_1]
Pack of out-of-control dingoes are spotted terrorising a popular beachside town a short drive from Sydney – attacking residents and defenceless pets
- Out-of-control pack of dingoes spotted in NSW beachside town of Hawks Nest
- Reports they were attacking residents and pets on the state’s Mid-North Coast
- Local ecologist said pack were increasingly territorial due to human feeding
- The two-year-old dingoes were euthanised humanely, council officials said
An out-of-control pack of dingoes have been euthanised after terrorising a beachside town north of Sydney.
Council officials humanely put down three male and two female dingoes that had attacked residents and pet animals with ‘increasing ferocity’ in Hawks Nest on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales.
But as many as 20 animals are thought to be roaming the area, with at least a dozen still at large.
The pack had become increasingly territorial after being fed by humans in the small town, ecologist Mat Bell said.
Pictured: A dingo on Hawks Nest Beach. An out-of-control pack of the wild dogs has been put down after terrorising a small beachside town
‘Human intervention is what has caused the dangerous change in this pack’s behaviour,’ the MidCoast Council dingo expert said.
As many as 20 wild dogs are operating in the Hawks Nest Tea Gardens area, according to the NSW Department of Primary Industry and Environment.
Mr Bell said it was vital the community stopped feeding the dingoes as doing so made them more demanding and aggressive to those they perceive to be a threat.
A MidCoast Council dingo expert said the local dingo population (pictured) had become territorial and aggressive because of human intervention
‘We cannot have this continue – ultimately it’s the dingoes that suffer,’ he said.
‘We are all really disappointed that it has come to this.’
The problem has prompted rangers to issue penalties to those who are caught ignoring the council’s ‘Dingo Smart’ advice.
Another dingo on Hawks Beach. The NSW Government says many as 20 wild dogs are operating in the Hawks Nest Tea Gardens area
Rules that will be enforced include securing bins properly and making sure food scraps are not easily accessible.
‘Our Rangers will be following up on reports of residents feeding dingoes, but the compliance issue also falls to instances where bins haven’t been secured properly and food scraps are easily accessible,’ Mr Bell said.
Dingoes are classified as a ‘pest’ and a ‘wild dog’ by the NSW government because of the threat to pose to livestock.
The dingo is Australia’s only native canine and is protected in national parks under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
There are three types of purebred dingos – inland and tropical, alpine – and the alpine species is the only one that is endangered.
However in some areas of Queensland they are classified as a pest.
Most dingoes in Australia are hybrids mixed with dogs, with the potential extinction of pure-bred dingoes being predicted since 2011.
[ad_2]
Source link