Australian authorities caught unlawfully using 'cruel' devices to catch native animals

Australian authorities have admitted to unlawfully using a controversial device to capture dingoes so they could be killed, despite the practice being “in breach” of their own animal welfare rules. The ACT Government confirmed the mistake with Yahoo News, revealing it permitted soft-jaw traps to be used for years, even after it passed an amendment in 2019 that prohibited them.

When stepped on, the trap's jaws snap tightly around the animal’s foot, keeping it in a fixed position until a routine check is made, sometimes causing it pain for hours. Unlike steel-jawed traps, they have padding that lessens damage to the animal’s limb, and they are commonly used for dingo control in other states.

Its frequent trapping of dingoes on public land was never hidden. But it's understood that until recently, ACT authorities didn’t realise the method was now banned.

Most animal welfare groups oppose the traps. Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society International) claims they are “inherently cruel, cause intense stress, injury, and prolonged suffering”. While Deakin University ecologist Professor Euan Ritchie said governments have “far better ways” to manage dingoes humanely. Alix Livingstone from wildlife protection organisation Defend the Wild described them as "outdated".

Why are dingoes trapped?

Dingoes are regarded as a separate species from domestic dogs, and they have notable behavioural differences, including howling like wolves. DNA testing across Australia suggests there is very little hybridisation between dogs and dingoes.

Despite being culturally important to Indigenous people and playing an important ecological role as an apex predator, state and territory governments around Australia routinely trap, shoot and poison dingoes on public land that borders farmland, due to concerns they kill sheep. Two notable places they are protected are K'gari in Queensland and a small, critically endangered population in Victoria's northwest.

How was the illegal trapping discovered?

In July, a confidential source alerted Yahoo about conflicting descriptions of soft-jaw traps in ACT government documents.

Their possession and use were explicitly prohibited as prescribed items alongside shock collars and cockfighting spurs under the Animal Welfare Act and the associated Animal Welfare Regulation.

Yet another government document, the ACT Pest Animal Management Strategy, described them as an “effective technique” to control wild dogs, which is a common term used to describe dingoes.

On July 23 this year, Yahoo posed six questions to Parks and Conservation Services (PCS), which manages dingo control, about its use of soft-jaw traps. It did not respond directly and instead emailed a short statement from the government. “The ACT Government is currently reviewing the legislation and the appropriateness of the regulatory settings regarding the management of overabundant wildlife in the ACT,” it said.

For over a week, further requests for comment did not receive a response.

Government amends laws and resumes dingo trapping

Concerns about the use of soft-jaw traps were raised at an uncomfortable time for the ACT government. It is in the process of updating the Nature Conservation Act to change the status of dingoes from a pest species to a controlled native animal, giving it a similar status to eastern grey kangaroos. And this has upset some farmers who fear it could make it harder to control dingoes, and the matter was raised during budget estimates on Friday.

After PCS was told it was illegally using traps, it suspended their use for weeks. But it quietly began working on amending legislation.

On July 31, a new regulatory change was published by the government, creating an exemption for the use of soft-jaw traps by permit holders and conservation officers. Then on August 1, as the law came into effect, it resumed dialogue with Yahoo, responding to new questions by issuing a lengthy statement.

“The use of soft-jaw traps by [PCS], primarily for controlling pest animals or overabundant native wildlife under the Biosecurity Act 2023, was recently found to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1992 and its associated Regulation,” it said in part.

“Although PCS had used these traps for many years as part of their pest management activities, an amendment in 2019 added soft-jaw traps to the list of prohibited items under the Animal Welfare Regulation 2001, rendering their continued use unlawful.”

It then explained its decision to resume their use, claiming they are "essential for effective dingo control".

"To resolve the issue, the ACT Government has amended the Animal Welfare Regulation to include exemptions to the possession and use of soft-jaw traps," it said.

Government urged to consider 'humane' control methods

The government said soft-jaw traps are used in accordance with national animal welfare standards, including the National Code of Practice for the humane control of dingoes and that daily inspections and prompt euthanasia ensure "humane treatment". But the decision to amend legislation rather than adhere to established animal welfare protections has frustrated a number of leading experts and ecologists.

Humane World for Animals Dr Renae Charalambous described the change as “deeply troubling”.

“Rather than bringing their wildlife management practices into line with the law and community expectations, the government has amended the legislation to suit its own operational needs,” she said.

"The use of these traps to manage native species like dingoes is particularly disturbing. Dingoes are a native apex predator, not a ‘pest’, and lethal control methods like trapping and killing fail to provide long-term solutions to conflicts with livestock."

In many cases, traps can kill or harm non-target native wildlife, including birds, wombats, and goannas. Due to the risks they pose to animal welfare, Professor Euan Ritchie warned trapping can also harm and, in some cases, said “strong considerations” needed to be made about where and when they were used.

“Leg-hold traps can cause a range of impacts on dingoes, ranging from relatively minor and short-lived pain and discomfort, through to more severe pain and distress, swelling, dehydration, bruising, lacerations, dislocations, and fractures,” he told Yahoo.

Continuing, he said there are “better ways” to manage dingoes that are more humane than trapping, shooting and poisoning, and that more investment was needed in alternative methods.

“Strategic fencing, but not large barrier fencing, has a role. So too does the appropriate use of guardian dogs and donkeys, which have been demonstrated to be effective in Australia, and around the world,” he said.

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