Federal funding helps control wild dogs

Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said allocating $2.5 million, as part of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper, would help reduce the economic and emotional toll of wild dogs.

"Wild dogs cause terrible distress for farmers and landholders, killing livestock, reducing farm profits and causing emotional anguish," Mr Joyce said.

"They are estimated to cost our agriculture sector up to $89m each year with direct costs from livestock losses, control measures and disease transmission.

"That's why the Coalition Government is supporting a two-pronged effort to manage wild dogs over the next two years, consistent with Western Australia's Wild Dog Action Plan.

"There's a $1.5m project which will contribute to the action plan by supporting landholders to increase their capacity to manage wild dogs, including by working more effectively with industry and community biosecurity groups."

Mr Joyce said the State government would receive a further $1m for regional wild dog fencing projects.

He said WA farmers would benefit from improved stock management and increased profitability through this work, which would also provide employment and economic opportunities to regional communities.

Murchison pastoralist Ashley Dowden, Challa station, welcomed the funding but said it would not help the Murchison cell fence.

"It is all good but personally it won't help our cause for the Murchison cell fence," Mr Dowden said.

"Any funding to go towards dog control is good, because their are holes in the State plan - but as I see it, it will fail because there is no money for on-ground work to clean the dogs out."

The Murchison project would see 480 kilometres of dog proof fencing constructed between the existing State barrier fences - creating a vermin proof cell covering 7.5 million hectares and surrounding 53 pastoral stations and nine reserves.

But no funding has been allocated to the project.

Mr Dowden said it would become a State-wide issue within 12 months.

"Dogs are in the agricultural region, as close to Perth as Clackline," Mr Dowden said.

"This is a serious issue, I've always said the dogs are going to be in the Darling Scarp, well guess what, they already are."

Making the announcement in Geraldton on the weekend, Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash said the federal government was serious about helping landholders to manage pests and weeds.

"As a farmer myself, I know first-hand how devastating the impact of feral animals can be on livestock or how pest weed invasions can drastically cut a crop's yield," she said.

"I am pleased to be part of a government that has shown an unprecedented commitment to reducing some of the impacts that weeds and pest animals have on farmers and their livelihoods.

"We are also a government that backs up its commitments with real investment, which is why the Ag White Paper included $50m for management of established pest animals and weeds and a further $25.8m specifically for pest animals and weeds in drought-affected areas."

It is understood the funding will be managed through the Department of Agriculture and Foo WA (DAFWA) and the Wild Dog Action Plan.

Murchison Regional Vermin Council chairman and Yalgoo shire president Neil Grinham, Meka station, said funding was always welcome, but it had to be put to good use and not go to waste as it had in the past.

Mr Grinham said in a year he would catch on average about 30-40 dogs but said no one was listening.

He will be discussing wild dog control with Ms Nash and Mr Joyce in coming weeks.

Mr Grinham said the Wild Dog Action Plan didn't recognise the Murchison cell fence.

He does not support the cluster fencing concept, believing there was a bigger issues to resolve.

"We believe it's a DAFWA-driven initiative, they are not out here so they don't see what we need," he said.

"DAFWA should be there to support and guide us, not tell us what we need to do."

Mr Grinham said he had been fighting the wild dog issue since mid-2000s.

"It's been driven from the top down, not the ground up and this is where we need to be careful with these contestable grants," he said.

"There will be criteria and guidelines in what you have to do to meet their parameters - you will be controlled by the department.

"This will be trial cluster fencing, it will cost us and not be as effective as vermin fences, baiting and dogging programs.

"If I had a choice on what to do with the $2.5m, I'd put the (Murchison) fence up and if I have more money, we would break it up into cells to control the inside.

"We need to stop them moving south, we need to close the gap first.

"We are like a boat with a hole in it."

WA Liberal senator Dean Smith has been pushing for a new wild dog fence arguing it was urgently required to address WA's wild dog problem.

Mr Smith said the news was a great outcome for regional WA and for affected communities, especially across the Mid West.

"It is a good sign of co-operation between the State and the federal governments," Mr Smith said.

"We know the State has a $20m commitment to support wild dog control and it's good the Commonwealth government has been able to contribute to that plan as well."

Nationals WA Geraldton candidate, former Agriculture Region representative and Port Hedland Export Depot owner Paul Brown said he had witnessed the damage wild dogs caused.

"Not only is there an economic impact, but there is also a social and environmental impact," he said.

"I welcome any funding from the federal government that increases the capacity of the pastoralists themselves and their capacity for things like baiting, doggers and also being able to use innovative techniques to control dogs.

"We've seen recently drone technology being used to track and control dogs.

"One of the other great things, following on the investment from Royalties for Regions into fixing the State Barrier Fence, is a further $1m from the federal government that will allow competitive grants to be sought from pastoralist to go into wild dog fencing."

Mr Brown said it was great news for pastoralists.

"We certainly welcome any federal money," he said.

"We're very grateful that Ms Nash and Mr Joyce are able to partner with the State government to do this."

Ms Nash said she had been pushing for more funding for the past three years.

"The Yalgoo shire has worked very hard on this issue, and the issue of wild dog fencing is critical to dog control and pest control - it's great we have commitment funds to deal with dog fencing."