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Wild dog (Canis familiaris)

Wild dogs include dingoes, feral domestic dogs and their hybrids. They cause heavy losses to sheep, goat and cattle producers and can threaten people at camps and work sites.

Key facts

Type: Pest animal, mammal.

Native to: Domestic dogs and dingoes.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, SA, WA, NT.

Other names: Feral dog, Dingo and dingo hybrids.

Identification

  • Medium to large dogs of varying colour; dingoes are typically ginger with white feet and tail tip.
  • Signs include tracks, scats along roads and fence lines, and attacked livestock.

Where it lives

Grazing country, forest edges and remote areas across the mainland.

Why it matters

  • Predation on sheep, goats and calves.
  • Disease and parasite spread, including hydatids.
  • Safety risk at camps where dogs are fed.

How it spreads

  • Large home ranges and long dispersal distances.

Control methods

  • Coordinated baiting programs with 1080 or PAPP baits by authorised persons.
  • Trapping and shooting by trained operators.
  • Exclusion and cluster fencing.

Site hygiene and welfare

  • Never feed wild dogs or dingoes, and secure food and rubbish at camps.
  • Use methods set out in the national model codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the species.
  • Coordinate control with neighbours and the local government biosecurity plan, as isolated effort is quickly undone by reinvasion.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Restricted matter, categories 3, 4, 5, 6. Do not give it away, sell or release it into the environment; do not move it; do not keep it; do not feed it. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: General biosecurity duty. Not prohibited matter in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Declared animal. Declared animals have legal restrictions, which can cover keeping, moving, selling and releasing them, and landowners may be required to control them.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (C3). C3 Management: landholders must manage it to reduce its impact and stop it spreading.
  • Tasmania: Not a declared pest. Not a declared pest or prohibited matter in Tasmania. Importing animals is still controlled by Biosecurity Tasmania.
  • Northern Territory: Not a declared pest. Not on an NT declared or prohibited list. Check with the NT Government before keeping, moving or releasing it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Northern Territory: Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976 (NT), administered by NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

Sources