SYDNEY: Australia on Sunday ordered an urgent review into the management of dingoes on a popular tourist island after a spate of attacks by the wild dogs this year.
The Queensland state government announced the review three days after a father rescued his toddler from a dingo’s jaws. The boy had been dragged from a parked camper van in a remote part of Fraser Island off the Queensland coast.
The 14-month-old’s skull was fractured and he suffered multiple puncture wounds to his neck and head, his parents told national broadcaster ABC.
Queensland’s Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said she was bringing forward a review into dingo management on the island.
“The management of dingoes on K’gari (Fraser Island) is complex, and the government is committed to supporting a sustainable and healthy dingo population, while minimising the risks to human safety and dingo welfare,” she said in a statement.
The number of rangers patrolling the island would be boosted, while more efforts would be made to educate visitors about the dangers of dingoes, Enoch added.
The attack on the toddler is the third this year on World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island and a popular tourist destination that attracts up to 400,000 visitors each year.
Two dingoes were put down in March after a French mother and son were mauled on the island.
