Mission
Our mission is to research and implement a new way of recovering biodiversity in Australia which prioritises the protection of dingoes, regards native and introduced species with equal respect, and excludes killing as a method for conservation.
Apex predators are vital for the health of ecosystems, but are also some of the most imperilled species. They maintain a ‘balance of nature’ by limiting populations of their prey and smaller predators. This predation force cascades through ecosystems to influence processes as wide ranging as grazing, predation and reproduction - to fire, disease, carbon sequestration, soil chemistry and water – and all the way to human economic and educational opportunities. The influence of apex predators is arguably of a similar magnitude to that of climate change.
The dingo is one of the strongest examples known of the ecological role of an apex predator. Dingoes regulate the populations of smaller predators and wild herbivores, thereby protecting small animals from overpredation and vegetation from overgrazing. Australia has been stuck in a quagmire of desertification, biodiversity loss and extinctions for decades, driven to a large part by the uncontrolled outbreaks of introduced animals. Conservation practitioners have been engaged in an uphill battle to save Australia's threatened species, primarily by the application of aggressive pest control. Research has now demonstrated that we have at our fingertips a simple means to effectively restore degraded ecosystems and recover threatened species: protecting dingoes.
There are currently no safe places for dingoes however, and persecution of dingoes continues unabated across the country, including in National Parks. We argue for the adoption of predator-friendly practices for two major reasons: (1) dingoes are vital for ecosystem health and (2) dingoes have an inherent value and right to assume their place in the Australian landscape. We therefore set out to establish large-scale long-term Dingo Reserves, and three have been successfully launched. At these sites we are trialling a holistic ecological restoration approach based on the protection of dingoes and without the use of any pest control.
Apex predators are vital for the health of ecosystems, but are also some of the most imperilled species. They maintain a ‘balance of nature’ by limiting populations of their prey and smaller predators. This predation force cascades through ecosystems to influence processes as wide ranging as grazing, predation and reproduction - to fire, disease, carbon sequestration, soil chemistry and water – and all the way to human economic and educational opportunities. The influence of apex predators is arguably of a similar magnitude to that of climate change.
The dingo is one of the strongest examples known of the ecological role of an apex predator. Dingoes regulate the populations of smaller predators and wild herbivores, thereby protecting small animals from overpredation and vegetation from overgrazing. Australia has been stuck in a quagmire of desertification, biodiversity loss and extinctions for decades, driven to a large part by the uncontrolled outbreaks of introduced animals. Conservation practitioners have been engaged in an uphill battle to save Australia's threatened species, primarily by the application of aggressive pest control. Research has now demonstrated that we have at our fingertips a simple means to effectively restore degraded ecosystems and recover threatened species: protecting dingoes.
There are currently no safe places for dingoes however, and persecution of dingoes continues unabated across the country, including in National Parks. We argue for the adoption of predator-friendly practices for two major reasons: (1) dingoes are vital for ecosystem health and (2) dingoes have an inherent value and right to assume their place in the Australian landscape. We therefore set out to establish large-scale long-term Dingo Reserves, and three have been successfully launched. At these sites we are trialling a holistic ecological restoration approach based on the protection of dingoes and without the use of any pest control.