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Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Dr Mike Letnic is from the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales
"It's been a terrible tragedy, what's happened up in K’gari last week.
People love to experience places that are genuinely wild and see animals there. But doing that comes with risks. We've really got to be mindful that it can be dangerous. There's been a long history on K’gari (Fraser Island) of difficult interactions with dingoes and people having issues with their behaviour.
The same way that we have to be careful in northern Australia with crocodiles, or in other parts of the world with animals like bears, we need to make sure that we are fully aware of the need to manage the risks when in situations with potentially dangerous animals.
By that, it probably means we avoid potentially harmful interactions by discouraging feeding, and modifying our behaviour so we don't end up being alone, especially at night or in the early hours, which could make people vulnerable to groups of dingoes."
Associate Professor Bill Bateman is from the Behaviour and Ecology Research Group in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences at Curtin University
"The tragic death of Piper James on K’gari by drowning does indeed seem to have involved an attack by dingoes. We don’t know exactly what transpired, and so speculation should be avoided. It is important to note that previous attacks and deaths on K’gari have usually involved children, and often when the child is alone or separated by some distance from family members. Small individuals, lone individuals, and running or turning one’s back on a dingo can trigger an attack. Tragic as the death of Piper is, the issue is less to do with dingoes and more to do with human behaviour – ultimately, one should never be alone around what are predators capable of attacking humans. It is unlikely that culling the dingo pack will have any effect other than driving down the dingo population on K’gari. What needs to be done is the introduction of clearer, safer rules for visitors and perhaps a cap on their numbers."
Dr Mathew Crowther is Professor of Quantitative Conservation Biology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney
"The decision to cull dingoes on K’gari was unwise. It was undertaken without consultation with the Butchulla people or experts in dingo biology. The dingo population on K’gari is small (at most ~200 individuals) and has low genetic diversity, meaning that culling poses a genuine threat to the long-term viability of the population.
Rather than resorting to lethal control, greater emphasis should be placed on educating visitors that dingoes are dangerous wild animals and that close interaction must be avoided. Culling will do little to prevent aggressive behaviour, as it does not address the underlying causes of dingo–human conflict."
