Working With Livestock Producers for Sustainable Management of Carnivores

Final report to the NSW Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Canberra. The aim of this Churchill fellowship was to study techniques being used by international institutions to coexist with carnivores, for the benefit of Australian livestock producers and the environment. These techniques may help Australians to coexist with dingoes, Australia's native wild dog, and indirectly aid in the conservation of Australian plants, animals, and landscapes by maintaining populations of a top order predator. Outcomes of the fellowship: During my fellowship I visited institutions, trusts, government and non-government organisations and individual scientists that comprise the forefront of innovative ecological research on carnivores. My major finding is that conflicting perceptions on what is 'right' or 'moral' for self and earth drastically influences dingo (wild dog) management. It is a value based identity crisis between livestock producers and conservationists that neither can win because the arguments are value based, and it is critical to resolve this conflict to move forward.