LHPA workshops deliver wild dog trapping success

In an ongoing effort to reduce wild dog activity in the region, the Mid Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority is running workshops to teach landholders the skills they need to trap and bait wild dogs.

A number of successful two-day workshops have been run since the program started almost a year ago and the Mid Coast LHPA is planning a further 20 workshops for the year ahead.

Mid Coast LHPA ranger, Laurie Mullen says that the workshops show participants how to set and maintain traps, where they should be set and what sort of lures to use.

"These workshops are focused on teaching trapping techniques to assist landholders in targeting old dogs that won’t take baits," Mr Mullen said.

"Skills taught during a workshop include what dog signs to look for, such as rakes and marking of territory, and how to tune traps and prepare them for the ground.

"We usually have between six and ten landholders in each workshop – this ensures that everyone gets one-on-one training with the trapper and hands-on experience setting traps."

In August last year, the first of these workshops was held on David and Helen Leake’s property east of Dungog. Since that time, the Leake family – David, Helen and their twin boys – have trapped 41 wild dogs on their property.

“We’d been baiting wild dogs every year for the past 14 years that we’ve been here, but we still had stock losses. We realised that the dogs had become ‘bait smart’ and that trapping was our best alternative,” Mrs Leake said.

"The trapping workshop taught us the skills we needed to make sure we were doing it properly, including how to tune, maintain and set traps, as well as what dog signs to look for."

"It’s really important that trapping is done right because if it’s not, the dogs can become ‘trap smart’. You need to be dedicated to doing it properly every time," said Mrs Leake.

"I’d recommend this workshop to anyone who is serious about controlling wild dogs on their land."

Traps are available to borrow from most LHPA offices, although many landholders purchase their own.

Workshops are held whenever there is enough interest from landholders, so contact your local Mid Coast LHPA office in Wingham, Scone, Singleton, Kempsey or Tocal if you would like to attend a workshop or for more information.

Media contact: Suzie Robinson 6391 3720 / 0428 465 378