More dingo attacks are to be expected on Fraser Island in south-east Queensland, says Hervey Bay MP Ted Sorensen.
His claims come after a three-year-old girl was attacked and mauled by two dingoes on a camping trip to Fraser Island on Monday.
While waiting for a barge, the girl is said to have wandered off from her family and into some sand dunes when she was attacked by the dingoes, and dragged off by her legs.
Witness David Law told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation of the dramatic events as he tried to warn the girl’s family.
“I was running and yelling and screaming and pointing at these people behind the dune,” he said.
“I finally got their attention and pointed behind, and one of the men ran over the dune, and scared the dog off the little girl.”
Hervey Bay MP Sorensen criticised the State Government’s dingo management strategy, and said that its procedures needed to be looked over.
“I think that’s one of the biggest problems on Fraser Island is that there’s just not the food source over there for the number of dingoes that are on Fraser Island,” he said.
“I think we’ve really got to look at that management side of what’s happening on Fraser Island.”
He also said it was important to act quickly, or more dingo attacks would be unavoidable.
“It would be good to have that part of it done straight away and to make sure things are working properly on Fraser Island and I believe the attacks will continue until we get it peer reviewed and we get some common sense back into the whole situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Kate Jones pointed out that since the strategy had been in place, there hadn’t been any deaths from dingo attacks.
A nine-year old boy was killed on Fraser Island in 2001.
Fraser Island has a dingo population of around 200, which is one of the last groups of purebred dingoes in the world, and therefore a protected species in Australia.
