DINGOES are an often misunderstood animal, deserving of more attention from governments and the Australian people, according to local dingo keepers Ann and Dennis Murray.
Owners of four dingos and members of the Dingo Care Network (DCN), the Lake Boga couple are on a mission to advance the interests of the dingo — a subspecies of wolf, thought to have been brought to Australia, possibly by Asian sailors, between 3500 and 10,000 years ago.
While wild populations rarely trouble humans, there have been some well-publicised incidents on Fraser Island where the animals and humans are in close proximity — and of course the infamous Chamberlain case.
The Murray family’s ambition is three-fold. First priority is to cultivate a greater understanding of the animal.
Secondly, through their work with lobby groups and organisations , they hope to see the animal acknowledged as an endangered species in Victoria, which would grant increased protection.
Finally, the long-term goal of the couple — and many others in the dingo owner community — is to see the re-introduction of purebred dingos into the wild in Victoria.
“The government at the moment will not let dingos go back out into the wild, because they will not recognise any of the DNA tests around,” Mr Murray told The Guardian.
“So they’re saying if you can’t prove it’s a dingo, we won’t let it go out into the wild.”
Currently the Victorian Government does not consider the dingo to be endangered in the wild, despite a belief among some dingo aficionados that Victoria’s wild purebred population has been all but wiped out due to hybridisation with wild dogs, hunting, habitat changes and inbreeding.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s edition of The
Guardian (03/04/13).
