Dingoes: Great Animals, Terrible Pets

by Kimberly Coleman

Between 1998, when the government of Australia allowed the dingo to be classified as a pet (prior to that, owning a dingo was illegal) and 2001, with the killing by a dingo of a small boy, Australia’s indigenous canine transformed its image from pest, to pet, to predator.

The Carr Government’s Companion Animals Act, which reclassified the dingo as a pet, has now come under scrutiny from many sources, since there have been an increasing number of dingo attacks on humans.

In 2001, for example, a pair of dingoes followed two seven-year-old boys as they walked along a trail at Waddy Beach. The dingoes attacked, mortally wounding one child and injuring the other.

Barry Oakman, owner of dingo pups and an adult male, understands the challenges of having a dingo as a companion.

He confirms that the dingo baby has the disposition of a domesticated puppy:
that is where the misconception begins. The personality of the pup begins to change as it reaches four months old.

Mr. Oakman, who is also President of the Australian Dingo Conservation Association (ADCA), feels that potential dingo owners should be forced to qualify under a special permit to keep a dingo in captivity, in the same way that handlers of other native wildlife must qualify for their permits.

He agrees that removing the "pest" label from the dingo was a positive step; however, adding them to a list of companion animals was not, and endangers both dingoes and humans.

Issues surrounding the Australian dingo are comparable to issues in the United States surrounding the wolf and wolf-dog hybrids.

These exotic canines are glamorized by the movies, but when they grow out of puppy hood, owners are not prepared to handle the unique challenges of caring for animals that still possess their natural, wild instincts.

Tragically, wolves and wolf-dogs who are taken to be pets often end up being abused, hunted and slaughtered out of ignorance and fear, or even released into the community, which puts both the wolves and other people in danger.

The fantasy of "owning" wildlife often creates a dire reality: a threat to the very existence of the species.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.