Greater Sydney Local Land Services is rolling out a 1080 wild dog and fox baiting campaign in the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury areas this month.
The program is aimed at reducing pest numbers and their impact on local properties, livestock and native wildlife in the region.
It started on Monday, September 17 and runs until Monday October 22.
Affected residents are being advised to “restrain their domestic pets during this time”.
A spokesperson for LLS said the program is run twice annually and the landholders contact LLS directly for assistance.
The following properties affected by the program include:
• 425 Singles Ridge Road, Yellow Rock 2777
• 371 Spinks Road, Glossodia NSW 2756
• 35 Purvines Road, Yellow Rock NSW 2777
• 891 Mountain Lagoon Road, Mountain Lagoon NSW 2758
• 28 Rocky Hall Place, Wilberforce NSW 2756
• 1955 Upper Colo Road, Upper Colo NSW
• 1880 Bells Line Of Road, Kurrajong Heights NSW 2758
• 371 Spinks Road, Glossodia NSW 2756.
Joshua Topham, a biosecurity officer from Greater Sydney Local Land Services, said the program was needed to reduce the impact of wild dogs and foxes as part of a collaborative pest animal control campaign with landholders.
Mr Topham said involvement and support from the local community was crucial to minimising the impact of the pests.
“These campaigns allow us to work with landholders and cover a large part of the impacted areas,” he said. “But there are always other areas that wild dogs and foxes will potentially find food sources.”
Mr Topham said the program was run annually in spring and autumn, to maximise its effectiveness.
The baits used are “target specific...material that’s attractive to dogs and foxes such as chicken wings, boneless red meat or manufactured bait material. Baits are buried so birds of prey can't find them. They are also tied to the station, so they can't be picked up and transferred by non-target animals,” another spokeswoman said.
All baited sites are clearly signposted and neighbours are notified. Mr Topham urged pet owners to keep an eye out for the sites and ensure their animals were contained during the baiting period.
Wild dogs cause an estimated $66.3 million damage to the Australian economy each year, while fox damage is estimated to be more than $227.5 million.
Mr Topham also encouraged other landholders to participate in a future program and report any sightings to the Greater Sydney office.
“If you hear howling at night time, see a fox or collarless dog, or lose an animal to an attack you should report it because these animals affect the entire community, our economy and the local environment,” he said.
“The more landholders we can get to actively target these pests, the more effective we can be in protecting attacks on livestock, domestic animals and native species.”
Participating landholders are required to undertake a training course about their legal obligations when it comes to 1080 use. Non-eaten baits are removed at the end of the program.
For more information on joining a pest animal control campaign contact Greater Sydney Local Land Services on 4724 2100.
