The Australian native dog, the dingo has had a bad rap with the dog being associated as a sheep- killer and being classed as vermin to be eliminated at all cost.
However, the dingo was in Australia long before sheep, which are an introduced species, and some argue shouldn't be here at all, as their close cropping of grass and ground cover exposes our fragile soils to erosion.
Dingoes have been shot and baited almost to extinction, and once gone, they are gone forever. Not many pure dingoes are left in Australia, with the exception of a few being bred in captivity. Instead of killing our dingoes, these animals should be put into areas where wild pigs, goats, foxes, rabbits and other introduced pests are a problem, to control these pests in the age-old way. They would also keep the kangaroo numbers down and prevent plagues of hungry roos invading drought-ravaged farms.
As to them being labeled as dangerous to humans; snakes are far more dangerous and they are protected. I'd rather see a dingo in my backyard than a poisonous snake. Dingoes are shy creatures and if left alone pose no threat to people. They don't want to harm anyone, they just want to survive and they can't do this without our help.
Below are links to some Dingo webs in Australia- Dingodaz has the emails of the Federal and State ministers who are responsible for the environment.
