Animal protection group Animals Australia has filed proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria, challenging the lawfulness and validity of the unprotection order.
An unprotection order means a person can legally kill dingoes in certain areas of private and public land, by trapping, poisoning or shooting.
If those figures are correct, it suggests extending the unprotection order until 2028 will devastate the dingo population in eastern Victoria.
The current case is an important test for how the law balances the needs of humans and animals – and in particular, how much harm is deemed “necessary” at law to protect commercial profit and livelihood.
These numbers suggest the government has not struck the right balance between protecting livestock and ensuring dingo populations survive.
