Claims that dingoes control feral cats, foxes is flawed, new research says

He was referring to the paper, 'Stuck in the mud: Persistent failure of 'the science' to provide reliable information on the ecological roles of Australian dingoes', published in the September 2023 edition of Biological Conservation.

It has undertaken a critical review of the past 30 years of research into the relationship between dingoes and other mesopredators, such as feral cats and foxes, and says the argument to leave dingoes unrestricted in the environment due to their control of invasive pests such as feral cats and foxes is flawed.

The paper found the majority of research did not have the scientific rigour to support conclusions that dingoes suppress feral cat and fox populations, with only eight studies over the past 30 years capable of assessing whether or not dingoes suppressed foxes and cats - and each of those showing they did not.

One of the authors, Dr Ben Allen, who's a senior research fellow at the University of Southern Queensland, said it was interesting because the last decade had seen an increase in some groups seeking to have legislation or policy changed on the basis that dingoes suppress feral cats and foxes.

"Each of these changes have been rejected and the most reliable research supports such rejections," he said. "There is no doubt that dingoes play important ecological roles, but our research shows that suppressing foxes and cats isn't one of them."

In particular, Dr Allen said the findings had implications for the Commonwealth government's draft feral cat abatement plan just released, which made numerous references to dingoes as suppressing foxes and cats.

"The implication is that the draft plan recommends actions that have no scientific basis," he said. "Dingoes are not going to be the saviour."

When contacted for comment, Landholders for Dingoes spokesman Dr Barry Traill said he couldn't understand why there was such a focus on research on cats and foxes, when they weren't relevant to grazing.

"The key thing for graziers is herbivores - roos, goats and pigs - and there's abundant evidence that dingoes control the over-population of large roos, and completely eradicate feral goats, and reduce populations of feral pigs," he said.

National wild dog management coordinator Greg Mifsud asked how many roos, goats and pigs a wild dog could eat.

"Numbers at Charleville are a good example of this," he said.

"They had the highest density of macropods in the state, yet they were getting lots of wild dog scalps handed in.

"As for goats, they're susceptible to predation but aerial shooting gets rid of far more.

"I question putting dogs on these pedestals - I just don't think they can do all that they say."

Mr Mifsud also said that dingoes ate whatever was available, which meant if they were kept, they could be eating vulnerable species.

"They were shot on Astrebla Downs National Park because they had a diet of bilbies," he said.

Dr Traill said he would like to see organisations such as MLA and AWI fund research on the benefits of landholders keeping dingoes, saying it would show the significant environmental and business benefits of controlling herbivores.

Wildlife ecology professor Euan Ritchie, based at Deakin University in Victoria, said it was disappointing to find people so dismissive of so much science relating to dingoes' impact on roos and goats, and it didn't help the positive role dingoes have.

On the findings of the paper, Prof Ritchie said everyone recognised it was really hard to work on dingoes in an experimental way when they lived over such a large area.

"Wherever you look though, dingoes are having a role in keeping herbivore numbers down.

"For foxes and cats, the evidence is more debatable but they undoubtedly kill and eat them."

Dr Allen said there was even less data on the impact wild dogs had on herbivores than there was on cats and foxes.

"It's a romantic topic," he said.

"People want to believe the Lion King is there looking after the environment.

"And people like to 'do nothing' to keep the environment balanced."

Mr Mifsud said the findings would help decision-makers continue to determine best practice wild dog management to ensure negative impacts on Australia's agricultural, biodiversity and social assets were minimised.

"This research provides landholders and organisations the ability to strike a balance in terms of dingo control measures to mitigate environmental and livestock production costs, while acknowledging the important ecological role dingoes play as apex predators, and their cultural significance," he said.