A dingo that attacked two children and a man on the Queensland island of K’gari in recent weeks has been euthanised.
Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said the dingo was humanely euthanised on Tuesday afternoon to protect the public.
‘The tagged dingo has displayed increasingly dangerous behaviour including two separate attacks in recent weeks on young children in the Hook Point area,’ the department said in a statement.
‘Due to the escalation of the animal’s behaviour, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) has made the difficult decision to euthanise the dingo.’
However, the move has been criticised by some Australians who argued it was the responsibility of visitors to stay away from the wild animals.
‘I have a part dingo dog, this is sad,’ one man wrote.
‘People just need to stay away from them.’
‘So sad. This is their home,’ a second agreed.
‘Just wrong, they are hungry looking for food,’ a third shared.
‘How about we start doing this to humans as well!’ a fourth wrote.
Euthanising a dingo was a last resort and the decision was in line with the Fraser Island Dingo Conservation and Risk Management Strategy, QPWS said.
The tagged animal bit the man on the back of his leg in the Hook Point barge area on Monday in the third attack in as many weeks.
A primary school-aged girl was taken to hospital last week with significant leg wounds after she was bitten multiple times while swimming near Hook Point.
She was one of two children attacked in the area in recent weeks.
There have been six dingo-related incidents on K’gari since December 10, five involving children.
Rangers and the local Butchula Aboriginal Corporation are considering using tracking collars among other options to monitor the animals.
But they have rejected calls to cull any of the estimated 200 dingoes on K’gari, blaming visitor behaviour for a spike in incidents.
A series of incidents in 2023 led rangers to euthanise a dingo that had bitten a woman on the thigh while she was visiting the island.
QPWS has urged people to be ‘dingo safe’ by walking in groups, camping in fenced areas and not running on the heritage-listed island.
Children should be kept under constant supervision and within arm’s reach on K’gari.
QPWS said it was important to keep all food, rubbish and bait locked up and never to feed the animals.
This article by Miranda Foster was first published by The Daily Mail on 16 January 2024. Lead Image: A dingo that attacked two children and a man on the Queensland island of K’gari in recent weeks has been euthanised – sparking outrage among animal lovers.
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