Dinner plans for dingoes
THE new State Government may consider dingo feeding stations on Fraser Island as part of possible solutions following an international scientific review of the island's dingo strategy.
Environment Minister Andrew Powell told ABC interviewer Annie Gaffney the new government wanted to see "an ongoing sustainable dingo population and to make sure we can continue to promote Fraser Island as a World Heritage tourism destination".
He acknowledged a view among some that dingoes had interacted a lot more in the past with humans and recent moves to discourage this might have increased the incidence of attacks.
"That is one of the reasons why we want to look at the strategy and find out if it's the best strategy, whether it's going to deliver the best outcomes for dingoes but also for the tourists on the island."
He described as a normal incident a dingo encounter which would have been officially assessed as dangerous under the current strategy.
"I took my son to Fraser Island roughly this time last year.
"We were just camped on the beach one evening and a dingo trotted in for the smell of sausages and had a look around.
"I think it is a case of even if we review or change the strategy, people need to be very conscious that they are entering a wild environment that does have wild dogs and a level of precaution needs to be taken.
"I would say the same to anyone with a domestic dog, that even the most friendly dog can turn vicious at certain times.
"We all need to take precautions when we are on Fraser Island and around these dingoes," he said.
