Can dingoes increase graziers’ profits and help maintain Australia’s rangelands?

Abstract

Australia’s largest land carnivore, the dingo, has been targeted by control programs in many agricultural landscapes since European settlement because of the judgement that dingoes cause costs to producers through the killing of livestock. As Australian pastoralists, we challenge the assumption that dingoes will only cause costs to producers. Based on our personal experiences and from research, we provide an alternative view, namely that in certain circumstances, there are major economic and ecological benefits of maintaining dingoes in grazing landscapes by controlling the unmanaged grazing pressure. As cattle producers, we have obtained significant financial gains for our family businesses, and environmental benefits on our properties by maintaining dingoes. Dingoes greatly reduce high-density populations of larger kangaroo species and some feral animals, especially goats. Such unmanaged grazing is persistently identified as a major factor in landscape degradation across large areas of Australian rangelands. The Australian pastoral industry as a whole, and the government departments that support it, need to evaluate, consider and discuss the economic and ecological benefits as well as the costs of maintaining dingoes in Australian pastoral landscapes.