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Last of the doggers
25 Mar 2004
In Western Australia there is only a handful of doggers left - once there were 20 or 30 who roamed the state's wheatbelt. The fall in dogger numbers has drawn criticism from graziers, who say the WA Government is over-reliant on aerial baiting of wild dogs. But the problem in WA is reaching plague proportions, with graziers unable to run sheep on certain parts of their properties.
One of the last doggers is Bill Dale, with a lifetime of experience in patrolling remote areas and killing wild dogs. He patrols an area of about 1,000 sq km, and says his role in protecting the livelihood of sheep graziers gives him enormous satisfaction. Some graziers in WA's wheatbelt have lost up to 200 sheep in a night when a dog pack has struck. It's satisfying to go out and get a dog, take it back to a farmer and say "here's the dog that killed your sheep", Mr Dale says. He's passionate about passing his skills on to a new generation of doggers, including his son Aaron.
The Australian, 25/3/04, page 8.
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