AUSTRALIANS FEAR NEW BREED OF 'SUPERDOG' (EWE CANNOT BE SERIOUS!)

Drudge Report ^ | Dec 16 | Drudge

[jjbrouwer]

SYDNEY -- Sheep farmers are being terrorized by packs of half-dingo, half-mastiff wild dogs they say roam the countryside and pose a danger to humans.

Graziers say hundreds of sheep and lambs have been killed by the so-called "superdogs", which are breeding in rugged forests and mountains in New South Wales and Victoria.

They say the dogs are so aggressive that it is only a matter of time before they attack a hiker or farmer.

Six months ago wild dingoes on Fraser Island, a holiday resort off the coast of Queensland, killed a nine-year-old boy.

The cross-bred dingoes, larger than normal dingoes, are the product of mating between the native dog and escaped domestic breeds such as Alsatians, pit bulls and bull mastiffs.

Wild dogs have thrived since national park rangers abandoned a program of dropping poisoned meat baits from planes and helicopters four years ago.

The program ended due to concerns that the baits killed tiger quolls, an endangered native animal about the size of a cat.

The number of wild dogs on the loose also has increased due to a rise in recreational hunting in the forests.

Hunters use breeds such as rottweilers and Rhodesian ridgebacks to go after wild pigs, and some of the dogs escape and interbreed with dingoes.

Angry landowners are calling for a resumption of aerial baiting, saying the dogs are becoming increasingly bold.

Farmer Stuart Morant, 50, who runs 500 sheep on a 405-hectare property in the Tallangatta Valley in Victoria, said he had lost thousands of dollars worth of livestock over the past few years.

"Aside from the financial loss, it is incredibly distressing. I walked down to one of the paddocks one morning to find a wild dog had attacked a ewe as it was giving birth to a lamb. The dog had eaten half the lamb as it was coming out of the womb, and killed the mother," Mr Morant said.

The problem has become so acute that Australia's first National Wild Dog Summit will be held in the city of Wodonga, Victoria, in February.

Farmers, politicians and national parks rangers from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland will meet to try to resolve their differences and plan an eradication campaign.

A spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales said:

"We sympathise with farmers. They say they are witnessing the emergence of a kind of `superdog' in the mountains. We understand how tough it is to have 200 sheep killed in a season. It's very traumatic. But the tiger quoll is a threatened species."

Sheep farmer Betty Murtagh rejected the quoll argument, saying the wild dogs killed quolls and other wildlife.

[RightOnline]

"Those who merely WANT guns -- types who watch American TV and indulge in American pastimes like injecting cocaine --- thankfully, are kept gun free. I have been to the US and find our arrangement works better for all concerned."

How does it feel to be totally and completely brain-washed? Just curious.............

[ventana]

My brother lives in Vermont and just related a story about a coyote that went after a buddy of his. The guy was able to fend of the coyote or coydog or whatever it was, but was absolutely shaken by its boldness. Evidently there are no more little critters, raccoons, woodchucks, or even deer cuz these dogs are eating them up! V's wife.

[jjbrouwer]

ROL: you would be surprised that a huge number of Aussies and Commonwealth people (from all corners of the political spectrum) think like him.

Still, I travel around a lot and tend to follow the 'When in Rome' philosophy.

When I moved to New York there were things that really bugged me at first - like the monstrous tips workers expect you to give them, the ridiculous Eight Ball Pool rules they employ and the fact that many American men want to pick an argument with you in a bar just because you speak with a 'funny' accent. (The ladies are rather more friendly...)

After a while you just think - 'why fight it?' And blend in. Which is why many of my British New York friends now actually speak with American accents.

Mine however remains the same plummy pseudo-public school type that never leaves you!

[Revelation 911]

so please don't blame it on our gun laws

with all due respect, why are you hanging out in an American conservative forum ? -

[peabers]

I have been to the US and find our arrangement works better for all concerned.

You're lucky you don't live in the US because you'd get your f**king head blown off for welching on bets.

"The cheque is in the mail", my arse.

You are the epitomy of the criminal left.

[peabers]

excuse me, epitome.

[Silly]

What's A Jelly Baby's Worst Enemy?

There is a candy in Australia called "Jelly Babies," similar to Gummi Bears.

When I visited Australia years ago, there was a joke floating around based on the incident where a baby had gotten eaten by a dingo (wild dog) near Ayer's Rock, a famous rock formation in the outback.

The joke went:
Q. What is a Jelly Baby's worst enemy?
A. A Jelly Dingo

[jjbrouwer]

How we laughed! Yeah, we get jelly babies and jelly beans here too.

[jjbrouwer]

How we laughed! Yeah, we get jelly babies and jelly beans here too.

[Silly]

I've give anything to find some Violet Crumble here in NYC.

(Poor Violet...)

Just being,

[jjbrouwer]

Oops, I only meant to laugh once there.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Sheep farmers are being terrorized by packs of half-dingo, half-mastiff wild dogs they say roam the countryside and pose a danger to humans.

Sounds like a new export opportunity: herd em and send em to Korea.

[shaggy eel]

,,, glad we don't have this problem in New Zealand. I heard last weekend that 1994 predictions for lamb prices in 2001 were $NZ46 per head, at that time they were $NZ40. The average lamb price is now $NZ64 and sales at $NZ80 per head aren't uncommon, with the largest [not common] going for up to $NZ120. Sheep weights are 1kg on average since then too. Quite a good return.

[TEXASPROUD]

Britain has the most expert armed police in the world!

You evidently don't know about Texas' Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers (Peace Officers)

[jjbrouwer]

True, but being from London I suppose I'm biased. Being from Texas, I guess you are too!

[ZULU]

"Wild dogs have thrived since national park rangers abandoned a program of dropping poisoned meat baits from planes and helicopters four years ago."

Wrong!! They probaly have been thriving since the socialist government there confiscated privately owned firearms!!!!!

[TEXASPROUD]

I do remember landing at Gatwick and coming across an armed patrol consisting of a Constable with an MP-5 and an Inspector to give him clearence to shoot, but what an Inspector. She stood 6'3", blond, gorgeous, with some of the hottest legs in London. Damn she should have been used for the recruiting posters for the Met. I can't believe you don't have a picture of her on your website which I have been to a couple of times. Keep your powder dry

[Harrison Bergeron]

"National Wild Dog Summit"

Sounds like something you schedule two week vacation for and pack lots of beer. Tattoo optional.

[wardaddy]

Wasn't there a Tasmanian wolf?...the last having been killed 60 years ago.

[Ditto]

"National Wild Dog Summit"

Sounds like the end zone seats at a Browns game.