There is no Dingo dilemma: legislation facilitates culling, containment and conservation of Dingoes in New South Wales

The perceived dilemma about Dingoes overly simplifies a complex “wicked problem”. Similarly, it is simplistic to suggest that to “cull, contain or conserve” Dingoes are mutually exclusive options or are the only options for managing Dingoes at a state-wide level. The legal instruments enacted and implemented in New South Wales (NSW) attempt to accommodate conflicting values, impacts and drivers. Since the first Dingo symposium in 1999, there has been a series of legislative changes pertaining to Dingo management. That legislation, and associated regulation and policy, addresses the management of Dingoes and other free-roaming dogs such that the dilemma is perceived rather than actual. The main new legal operand in New South Wales is the Biosecurity Act 2015, but other States have similar legislation. Here we outline the application of this Act and others to the management of Dingoes in NSW and conclude that they can be variously culled, contained and conserved, within and across large landscapes, depending on context and managers’ objectives.