A landowner bordering Big Desert National Park north of Yanac says a government-subsidised 70km dingo exclusion fence will not be enough to prevent livestock attacks in the region.

Merino producer Alan Bennett has installed about 30 kilometres of exclusion fencing on his property – about 20km of which is set to be subsidised by the State Government in a trial aimed at preventing dingo livestock attacks.

In all, the government will subsidise 70km of fencing across five properties that, according to Mr Bennett, have sustained 84 per cent of confirmed livestock deaths in dingo attacks since a government unprotection order on the animals was lifted in 2024.

Mr Bennett told Country Today dingoes had already found ways around and under the fencing on his property.

“They’re effective, but they’re not foolproof. The skirt is only 300mm wide in some situations, and I don’t reckon that’s quite wide enough,” he said.

“We’ve had situations where dogs have been digging under the fence. But that’s more from them coming around and being caught inside and digging out and pushing out under the skirt. Like all things, they require maintenance and checking, but they’re the best tool we’ve got at the moment.”

Mr Bennett said although exclusion fencing had been successful in preventing attacks in some areas, it had only pushed the problem to different parts of his property.

“In May we’ve probably had some of the worst attacks. One night we lost 20 ewes and 30 lambs in one attack,” he said.

“The dogs are living in our area now. That’s the problem. Once a fence has got an end, that’s obviously the weakest point and the dogs can travel 10 to 20km a night.”

The entire June 24, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire June 24, 2026 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!