Tourists threaten 'dingo extinction' on Fraser Island

Tourists feeding and teasing dingoes on Fraser Island could lead to the extinction of the native dogs, an environmental group says.

With the Easter holidays approaching, visitors to the island need to be sent a message by the Queensland government that there will be zero tolerance for those who attract or harass dingoes, said Bree Jashin of the Fraser Island Dingo Preservation Group.

Jashin provided AAP with a photograph of tourists kicking sand at dingoes and a first-hand account of another incident between tourists and a dingo pup, which she said could elicit a reaction and lead to the dingo's destruction by rangers.

"The right for humans to play at the expense of the future of the only thoroughbred dingoes left is unacceptable," Jashin said.

"Fraser Island is the dingoes' home and humans have to remember they are guests in that home.

"This holiday season we urge DERM (the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management) to send a strong message of zero tolerance towards tourists who are badly behaved on this world heritage site - rather than juvenile dingoes being destroyed for trivial and provoked misdemeanours."

Chris Druery was among a group of three visitors in a four-wheel-drive south of Eli Creek on Fraser Island on 1st October last year when they saw an approaching vehicle drive directly towards a dingo pup.

"(The driver) pointed their vehicle directly towards the pup and sped up, attempting to run it down.

"They also swerved violently towards the pup, missing it by only centimetres.

"We watched the pup cower and run towards the surf with its hind legs tucked up under its rear end."

Druery said those in the offending four-wheel-drive were laughing during their attempts to run the dingo down, adding "it is disappointing that such a jewel in the crown can be tarnished by clowns that drive dangerously on the beach."

Bree Jashin said the three dingoes in photographs she snapped last year were heading towards Eurong township beachfront when they were harassed by backpackers.

Jashin stated "the pups were simply minding their own business when the girls screamed and the young male backpacker began to aggressively yell, run at, and kick sand at the pups."

Rather than dissuade the dogs, the yelling attracted them towards the group.

Jashin added "the backpackers all jumped in the vehicle and drove up close to them to take pics."

She said all three of the pups had been destroyed after exhibiting allegedly aggressive behaviour towards humans, concluding "how many days of this type of behaviour had these already orphaned pups endured before their short lives ended - bringing the loss of the Fraser Island dingo forever a step closer?

"There is an opportunity here for Queensland to be recognised by the international community as ... (being committed to) the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, leading-edge ecological scientific research and world class eco-tourism."
AAP