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Shock flock loss after dog attacks
5 Apr 2004
Wild dog attacks at Bulga Downs, south west of Sandstone in WA, have reduced a flock of 2,500 Merinos to just 800. In one particular attack, 54 sheep were lost in a holding paddock prior to shearing. Bulga Downs manager Murray McQuie said 800 mated ewes had been trucked in from Rawlinna station early in 2003, and of those only 300 ewes and no lambs were left due to wild dog attacks.
Mr McQuie said he wouldn't be buying any more sheep to restock until the wild dog problem is dealt with. Efforts to keep their numbers down are greater than ever, he said, but there's still a fair way to go. Dog attacks are common and station owners do most of the work themselves. A new initiative, however, has seen the employment of a full-time Declared Animal Group dogger in the area. He's partly funded by the APB, the Sandstone Shire and local pastoralists, and is employed on over 17 individual properties in the district.
Farm Weekly, 3/4/04.
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