The dingoes survival...

With the dingoes survival on the brink, the much maligned pure Australian dingo could go the way of the Tasmanian Tiger.

Despite enduring a couple of hundred years of persecution-shooting,trapping, and poisoning are their demise. Some of our top researchers say that this could happen within 20 years or less. Part of the problem is that money which is spent on eradication research could be better directed to determining exact dingo numbers, populations and the level of hybridisation, leading to a much more informed and intelligent approach to our native dingo. First listed as a pest in 1905, it is now protected in the Territories and classed as endangered in Victoria. In spite of decades of bad press, expecially concerning stock losses, the dingo now has a growing band of supporters, ranging from shooters to conservation researchers, all of whom are convinced that we should be trying in earnest to save our only top land predator. But conservationists are split into two groups; those who view crossbreeding as detrimental to the dingo's unique nature and those who believe genetics and appearance are irrelevant, as long as the animals maintain their ecological niche.