Wednesday, 19 November 2025

 Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (10:20): It was only recently the government was considering the future of the wild dog program. Thank goodness that program continued, but it needs more resources. This was sent to me on the weekend:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Hi Tim, this is getting very frustrating for us. Between us and our local trapper we have trapped and shot over 27 dogs and have lost over … 300 sheep just this year alone.

We have dog proof fencing and I’m out all the time checking cameras and every night with my thermal gear and it never stops.

We have at least 15 dog cameras at the main farm and five at our other farm down the road.

We have for the first time lost calves so they are not just killing sheep anymore.

Please for the love of God we need you guys to stop these idiots.

That is his reference to those who want to afford greater protections to the wild dogs. There you are. That is just one farm enterprise that has lost 300 sheep, and there are many, many more in the electorate that are experiencing significant losses. We would have lost thousands of head of sheep this year alone.

In recent years the government has introduced more regular trap checking. What that does is impact the ability to successfully trap, and the administration burden on our doggers has increased also. It is time to expand this program with more workforce and greater flexibility to look after our farming community here in Victoria.