Call for more baits

Cattle farm owner Royce Sommerfeld and cattle worker Tony Heath hold a young calf that was attacked by a dingo.

Megan Pope

MORE needs to be done to prevent dingo attacks in Maryborough according to Granville cattle farmer Royce Sommerfeld after his stock was attacked for the first time this year.

The dingo attacks are nothing new for Mr Sommerfeld who said he loses at least three cows a year to the native dogs.

"Each year at least half a dozen of our cows and calves are attacked," Mr Sommerfeld said.

"It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up to a lot of money.

"A cow can fetch around $2500 when it's fully grown."

Mr Sommerfeld said he loses about $15,000 worth of livestock to dingoes every year.

"If they don't kill them outright, we have to give them antibiotics," he said.

"Sometimes they don't recover and we have to shoot them.

"So either way we lose."

The latest attack victim, a six-week-old Braham calf had its rear leg torn apart by dingoes Mr Sommerfeld said.

"They really ripped into him," he said. "Hopefully he will come through, or he will be the first loss of the year."

Mr Sommerfeld said more baits in the Poona National Park would help reduce the number of dingo and wild dog attacks in the area.

"We can only do so much on our land," he said.