Wild dogs
The Box Flat Wild Dog Coordinating Program has been delivered quarterly in the Ngarkat region since 1996. The program is jointly coordinated by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and plays an important role in reducing wild dog impacts across the region.
Control within Ngarkat Conservation Park is an important part of managing wild dogs. Control is most effective when landholders adjacent to the park also undertake control activities on their own properties.
In South Australia, animals commonly referred to as dingoes are managed differently depending on their location relative to the dog fence. Inside the dog fence, dingoes are legally defined and managed as wild dogs.
Under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, landholders inside the dog fence are required to take reasonable steps to destroy wild dogs on their property and notify neighbouring landholders and the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board if wild dog activity is detected.
Approved methods include baiting, humane trapping through the PIRSA trapper program, and shooting.
Landscape board staff can provide advice, support, and coordination to assist landholders plan and undertake control activities.
Why is control required?
Wild dogs are a declared species in South Australia due to their impacts on livestock. They can cause damage to livestock production, particularly sheep and goat operations through predation and disease transfer.
The dog fence
The dog fence was established under the Dog Fence Act 1946 and extends from the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia through to southern Queensland. It acts as a barrier to reduce wild dog impacts on livestock production, particularly sheep, within the fence.
Outside the dog fence, dingoes are recognised for their culture and ecological roles and are managed as native animals under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
Monitoring and reporting wild dog activity
Information on wild dog movement and activity helps improve effectiveness of control programs across the region. Landholders are encouraged to report sightings, tracks, livestock attacks, or other signs of wild dog activity to the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and through WildDogScan, part of the national FeralScan program.
Reports can be submitted online at FeralScan.
Landscape board staff can assist landholders who are unable to submit reports online.
For more information about the Ngarkat Conservation Park baiting program or wild dog management requirements, please contact the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board Murray Bridge office on 8532 9100.