THERE are signs the wild dog menace is beginning to meet its match in South East Queensland's prized Traprock country with the ongoing construction of exclusion fences.
Fences, in addition to coordinated trapping, shooting and 1080 baiting efforts, are helping to reduce the massive impact dogs are having, particularly on sheep and wool enterprises.
At Bodumba, midway between Warwick and Inglewood at Gore, work is well underway to protect the 3200 hectare property with a 1.5m high barrier.
About half of property is now behind a wall of Waratah, particularly on the western side from where the majority of dogs appear to originate from surrounding forestry country. The rest of the boundary is expected to be completed during the next 12 months.
Property manager Jim Caton said the aim of the fence was to enable the sheep and cattle business to operate without the inference of canine predators and to reduce the impact of overgrazing by marsupials.
"We bait, shoot and we continually trap and even though we are certainly catching some, that is still not stopping all of the wild dogs coming onto Bodumba," Mr Caton said.
"The fence is certainly the next and best line of defence. Once we stop dogs stop from getting on this side we are going to have a lot more productive operation and a lot less headaches."
The fence is constructed with 1.2m Waratah dog proof netting, which has 12 horizontal wires and vertical wires at 150mm spacing. In addition, two 2.5mm high tensile barbs have been added to bring the fence up to height. A third barb has been strategically placed at the bottom of netting to discourage animals from attempting to push under the fence.
"We strained the netting using the Toyota in four wheel low," Mr Caton said. "When the wheels started spinning we reckoned we had enough tension."
Ironbark strainers have been placed where required in the undulating country, but at spacings of no more than about 200m. Black star pickets have been spaced at 6m intervals.
Mr Caton said an offset hot wire or an apron would likely be added if the barrier was compromised.
"The first 12 months will tell how this fence performs," Mr Caton said.
"I'm pretty confident the fence will do its job very well as it stands, but saying that I reckon there will be a few places we will need to do a bit more work on to make sure it is as an effective barrier as it can be.
"That could mean filling low spots, redirecting how surface water flows and making sure any pressure points are strong enough to handle the impact of the wildlife."
Mr Caton said he expected pigs to test the fence.
"I've seen pigs hit fences and keep hitting the same spot until they break through the wire," Mr Caton said.
"Pigs, especially some of those big old bores, are very powerful animals that can do a lot of damage. Once they get their snout through they can take a lot of stopping.”