The issue: Native species are facing persecution

Dingoes, flying-foxes, wombats and kangaroos are all legally targeted in Australia, unnecessarily labelled as pests. 

This means that they are captured, poisoned, shot or otherwise disposed of unnecessarily, and at a risk to the diversity and balance of our natural ecosystems. 

Our solution: working with nature to reduce conflict, not against it

HSI are at the forefront of human-wildlife coexistence that aims to reduce the costs and enhance the benefits of living with wildlife.

Coexistence is increasingly being advocated as an important way to reduce the threats facing biodiversity.  Yet coexistence between some species of wildlife such as dingoes and flying foxes can be a challenge for sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, and biodiversity conservation.

HSI has extensively researched humane and effective tools and practices to proactively reduce dingo predation on livestock while capitalising on the benefits dingoes to healthy ecosystems. Examples include livestock guardian animals, predator smart deterrents, and livestock husbandry. A new guide to Predator Smart Farming has been released that combines practical knowledge from graziers with the latest science on dingo ecology and behaviour and smart tools and practices that deter dingoes.

We also lobby for greater protection of dingoes as a top predator due to their essential role in maintaining healthy landscapes. 

Flying-foxes also known as fruit bats, are intelligent mammals with complex social lives. Flying-foxes are pollinators that are critical to the survival of Australian forests. Flying-foxes can impact farmer livelihoods when they consume fruits grown in orchards.

In New South Wales and Queensland, HSI helped to secure a phase out of crop-protection shooting licenses. HSI was instrumental in securing government assistance for horticulturalists to install wildlife friendly exclusion netting.  The netting provides a physical barrier that is far more effectively mitigate crop damage from bats and fruit eating birds than shooting. This creates a win-win for bats and horticulturalists by mitigating human-wildlife conflicts.

We advocate modern approaches to wildlife management that favours coexistence over culling and work towards a brighter future that supports people, the planet and animals.

Read the guide here

 

What Can You Do?

Watch our video and share it with your friends! 

Share this page to help raise awareness of the issue. 

Become an animal defender, with monthly donations to support our ongoing efforts. 

You can also follow us on social media for updates and information on developments in environment laws across the country. 

Take action for nature

Read more

Ushering in a new era of Human-Wildlife Coexistence

Ushering in a new era of Human-Wildlife Coexistence

Human-wildlife coexistence is a focus of Humane Society International Australia’s wildlife campaigns.  Coexistence means to exist together, to share landscapes and behave in ways that are mutually respectful and peaceful.   Coexistence aims to balance…

Read More
Australia’s dingoes: Vital yet villainised

Australia’s dingoes: Vital yet villainised

Since colonisation Australia’s dingoes have been relentlessly persecuted, mostly in the name of protecting farm animals. The archaic and cruel methods used to kill them remain largely unchanged in 200 years, not only causing…

Read More
Part 2: Baits, Bullets, and Bounties – Dead dingoes don’t mean safe stock

Part 2: Baits, Bullets, and Bounties – Dead dingoes don’t mean safe stock

When advocating against the poisoning, shooting and trapping of dingoes we’re occasionally met with the blunt response that dingoes kill farm animals, sometimes leaving them distressingly injured, and that as these animals are a…

Read More
Read More
icon-bg-leopard

Become an Animal Defender

Join us as a monthly donor and commit to making a better world for animals

icon-bg-turtle