Much of the conversation surrounding the increase in wild dog activity on private land in Mansfield Shire has been led by frustrated voices from the farming community.
Farmers have spoken out to advocate for themselves and their livestock when they feel no one else will.
But on the other side of the debate are conservationists, who bring equal passion to the issue.
They speak to lend their voice to the canids when, they feel, no one else will.
Conservationists take the deaths of canids lost to baiting and trapping just as personally as farmers take the deaths of livestock.
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Dr Jo Samuel-King is from the Dingo Conservancy, an organisation that works to see dingoes recognised as Australia’s apex predator and ecosystem regulator.
She believes protecting sheep and conserving dingoes are not mutually exclusive.
Dr Samuel-King says the debate needs to be de-escalated so both sides can listen to each other and find solutions that work for both farmers and wildlife.
“We understand the perception and the need to resort to desperate measures to protect livestock, but we would like people to come together to find a better way,” Dr Samuel-King said.
“Around 100 years ago the thylacine was hunted to extinction in Tasmania.
“No one wants to see history repeat itself in Victoria.
"And yet we have a unique population of dingo, that is currently facing the same fate.
“Our analysis of the data, collected as part of the Victorian Government’s Wild Dog Program shows an 82 per cent decline in estimated dingo numbers in central and eastern Victoria over the last three generations."
When asked whether the data could reflect a breakdown in reporting rather than actual decline—given the local view that canid numbers are increasing—Dr Samuel-King defended the figures.
"The government's data is Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) data which represent the number of dingoes caught per traps set and is an internationally recognised method of estimating populations trends," she said.
“Our analysis of the CPUE trends is consistent with Victorian Government data showing a similar trend in incident reporting.
"The incident reports have reduced by around 70 per cent over the last 12 years.
"Alpine dingo numbers are plummeting, and this puts them at risk of extinction."
Dr Samuel-King also addressed the common belief that canids causing problems on farms are hybrids—domestic dogs turned feral—rather than pure dingoes.
While she acknowledged why many hold that view, she said it was not supported by current research.
"It is understandable that farmers may think the wild animals they are killing are hybrids for two reasons," she said.
"We think of dingoes as a certain size and shape, colour and texture.
"The image we commonly have of the dingo is almost always that of the Desert Dingo.”
She said this misconception contributes to confusion around the term 'wild dogs'.
“The Alpine Dingo, the dingo found in South East Australia, is a unique population of dingo, probably a separate subspecies of dingo," she said.
"They often have different coat colours, thicker coats and are larger animals.
"For decades now, it was thought that these animals were hybrids.
"However, new research, conducted by conservation geneticist from Melbourne University, Dr Andrew Weeks and commissioned by DEECA has proven that all of the wild dogs killed under the Wild Dog program have been found to be pure dingo.
“Recent genetic analysis by Dr Souilmi and colleagues concluded that Alpine dingoes likely came in separate immigration events with the Desert Dingoes arriving approximately 7500 years ago and the Alpine Dingoes arriving approximately 8300 years ago.
"There is a urgent need for more research into this unique population of dingo, so that we can work towards building an understanding of exactly what it is and its role in the environment.
“Much of the information the conversation is centred on is left behind from inaccurate science based upon findings from early genetic research from decades ago.
“Science has come a long way from then and the genetic studies undertaken recently are much more credible than those from thirty odd years ago.
“They now use hundreds of thousands of genetic markers rather than dozens, and it suggests that dingoes, desert and alpine, are as distinct from dogs as they are from wolves.”
Dr Samuel-King said her organisation wants to see a shift in how Australia discusses wild canids.
“Dingoes, as the native apex predator, are our greatest asset in the fight against vertebrate invasive pests," she said.
“Deer, goats, pigs, rabbits, cats and foxes are all fair game to dingoes - studies show that dingoes predate these problem animals.
"The question for Victorian Government is, will they support farmers in the transition to non-lethal livestock protection?
“We want to see the money currently put towards baiting and trapping, $4.8m per annum, put into researching these animals and the non-lethal methods of livestock protection, that that will keep dingoes off farms and away from sheep.”
