Wild dogs in western and southern Queensland

Sheep and wool production have long been an important industry within the Queensland identity. It’s an industry that provides food and fibre products to the domestic and international markets and employs many people in regional communities.

The presence of wild dogs in the landscape can severely limit the ability to produce sheep successfully. Wild dogs are identified by Australia’s National Vertebrate Pests Committee as an extreme threat species, based on criteria such as pest risk and establishment risk.

In recent decades wild dogs have hampered the sheep and wool industry in Queensland. The damage inflicted has been noted to cause landholders both financial and emotional stress, resulting in some landholders leaving and restricting those endeavouring to enter the sheep and wool industry.

In the 15 years from 2001 to 2016 the state’s sheep numbers fell over 80% from more than 8.66 million to around 1.8 million. Losing sheep in such high numbers is not economically sustainable and directly results in a loss of farm jobs. In the same 15-year period, Queensland agricultural jobs fell by 28%.

Out west, when the jobs go, the people go too

The impacts of the reduction in livestock and employment opportunities reach well beyond the farm gate, they are felt in the social and economic fabric of the rural communities across the region.

The Department of Agricultural and Fisheries through the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative (QFPI) committed funding to support drought-affected sheep and wool producing areas across Queensland.

Since 2015, the Queensland Government has allocated $24.08 million to regional communities across Queensland for the construction of cluster fencing in areas with high wild dog density and other invasive plants and animal control and capacity building projects. This funding has been complemented with a $13 million investment by the Federal Government.

In partnership with local governments, Natural Resources Management groups and industry representatives, QFPI announced funding towards cluster fencing, with the ultimate goal of bringing large numbers of sheep back to Queensland and revitalising the sheep and wool industry, by jointly tackling wild dog control management.

By joining forces with neighbouring properties and forming groups – referred to as clusters – landholders are able to combine the efforts of ongoing wild dog control management within the fenced cluster area. In doing this, the total fence line distance is minimised, thus reducing the initial cost and ongoing maintenance costs.

Besides securing livestock and businesses against the threat of wild dogs, the QFPI cluster fencing program is making an investment in the development of regional communities.

Cluster fencing helps to minimise wild dog impacts, one of the major challenges for landholders, making the move back into sheep and wool a realistic proposition. The cluster fence is noted to also build confidence in landholders to diversify their enterprise, in the hope of increasing resilience to price fluctuations with the hope of bringing income streams that are spread out over the year.

By removing or minimising the worry about the threat that wild dogs pose to their livestock and livelihoods, and reducing the amount of time and effort expended on the issue, cluster fences may also contribute to boosting the mental health and wellbeing of landholders and their families.

After a period of time, lambing rates have been seen to bounce back to sustainable levels, which, along with flock numbers increasing, improvements in stock condition and more plentiful fodder, has provided hope to landholders facing down the challenges of drought. Landholders' ability to invest in their businesses, diversify their enterprises and increase land productivity has also been increased.

Building a cluster fence generates employment opportunities within the region and the increase in meat sheep and wool enterprises brings seasonal and long-term sustainable jobs on farms and in the wider community. New employment opportunities allow for new families to move into regional communities, bringing with them skills, trades and professions and allowing for the natural growth and diversity within the economy.

This can result in more people spending their money at local retailers, growth of population, the boosting of enrolments at local social clubs, sporting teams and schools, and the increase of local services.

The QFPI cluster fencing program is supporting regional communities by empowering landholders and communities as they work towards turning the long-term trend of decline into a story of resilience and growth.

Current progress

Through QFPI the Queensland Government has committed $14.8 million to support the construction of cluster fencing in areas with high wild dog impacts. This has been complemented by $9.3 million from the Federal Government and landholder contributions of approximately $63.8 million. With the completion of QFPI Round 3, 516 properties will be protected by a total of 9,582 km of fence.

QFPI Round 1 began in March 2016 and was finalised in September 2018 protecting 250 properties across Central Western Queensland Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD), South West Natural Resources Management (SWNRM), Maranoa and Goondiwindi Regional Council areas. The area protected in Round 1 totalled almost 3 million hectares, an area almost the size of Belgium.

QFPI Round 2, between November 2017 to August 2019, resulted in funding being allocated across the RAPAD, SWNRM (subsequently rebranded to Southern Queensland Natural Resource Management (Southern Queensland NRM)), Maranoa and Goondiwindi Regional Council regions, adding another 89 properties, covering a further 1.2 million hectares.

In March 2019, QFPI Round 3 began rollout, adding Southern Downs and Western Downs Regional Council regions to the mix. Round 3 consisted of another 119 properties in 26 clusters and approximately 900,000 hectares protected. The combination of Rounds, 1, 2,and 3 now included 83 cluster groups, 470 properties and over 5 million hectares of land protected.

Round 5 commenced in 2021, with a further 16 clusters and 61 properties covering 1 million hectares. Round 5 has included Murweh and Paroo Shire Councils for the first time.