A decline of dingoes is a threat to our ecosystems...

The Dingo fence has impacts on Australian ecology! A decline of dingoes is a threat to our ecosystems... In the 1880s a dingo-proof fence was erected across much of our sheep-grazing country to keep dingoes away from livestock. But the removal of dingoes impacts on both native and introduced animals. When we get large numbers of foxes we have all these native prey that have been decimated by foxes -foxes are one if the major contributors to the extinction of small mammals across the country. It's been proven that where there's dingoes, those endangered mammals are more likely to exist because there's less foxes. The effects dingo declines have on native wildlife also have flow-on effects to the whole ecology of a region. The other big effect is we get huge numbers of kangaroos where dingoes have been removed. Everyone wants to start shooting the kangaroos because they are having this impact on vegetation, especially on grasses and so we have these cascading effects through ecological systems arising. Reintroduction is possible in many areas and more has to be done to consider ways people can co-exist with the dingo. I keep getting told that it's a difficult thing to do because we have economic systems like sheep grazing which entail that the dingoes aren't present. What's more important, our ecosytems or another lamb roast?

One good example that's being trialed in many places of Australia is the use of Maremma guardian dogs - these are large dogs that fend off dingo attacks on livestock and so it can enable dingoes to co-exist with livestock.