The wild dog that was shot by Joel Ward on his property west of Namban, near Watheroo.

A WILD dog has been shot after terrorising sheep flocks during the start of the lambing season north of Moora.

The incident has raised alarm bells, with fears it is not an isolated sighting.

Australian Wool Innovation wild dog co-ordinator Meja Aldrich said research was being done in the parks system west of Coomerdale and Namban, near Watheroo, where cameras had captured footage of multiple wild dogs.

Because of the sightings, she has organised a free wild dog and feral pig management workshop at Marchagee on Tuesday, June 19.

One week after Farm Weekly reported that wild dogs were on the decline in the eastern Wheatbelt, Kristie and Joel Ward of Namban – 30 kilometres north of Moora – managed to shoot a wild dog that had mauled and killed lambs on their property.

The attacks have sparked concern, given they occurred well within the Registered Biosecurity Group zone and could mean other dogs are encroaching further towards the coast or built up areas.

Ms Ward said they had reported the incident to the local Agriculture Department office and taken a sample for genetic testing.

“At the start of lambing this year we had a couple of ewes that had had their back ends chewed out on the west side of our farm and we suspected maybe we had a wild dog around,” Ms Ward said.

“We then got in contact with a lady (Ms Aldrich) that is running a wild dog program and she set up a heap of cameras on our farm to see if we could catch anything on them, which we didn’t.

“Then last week, when checking sheep, we found a lamb that was alive with its back leg eaten off that we had to put down. “We knew the lamb was too big for it to be a fox attack or a wedge tail eagle, as they generally only eat their brains.

“The next day upon checking the same mob of sheep we found another lamb in the same condition which had to be destroyed.“

Later that day, when Joel was checking the same mob of sheep, he came across the wild dog and killed it.

“Joel rang our surrounding neighbours to let them know about the dog and two different neighbours, one out to the west and one to the east of us, also had lambs and sheep that had been mauled this season.

“It is definitely a worry to know they are around as some people probably would think some of their dead stock could be from foxes or eagles, so it’s good to let people know they are now closer to our area than we think.”

Ms Ward said the farm had been in the family since 1904, with Joel the fifth generation to work the land.

“His grandfather, who is now deceased, told us many years ago that the last dingo that was trapped and killed here was in the early 1970s,” she said.

“The dogs are definitely something that we don’t want in the area due to the large amount of stock they can kill and the cost of losing stock.

“Especially on a year when crops are not good – your stock are your saving grace.

“Also there’s the horrible and cruel death the poor stock endure from these dog attacks.”

Ms Ward said they kept the “dog’s ear in the freezer and it will be tested to see how much dingo it has in it, also to see if the DNA is linked to other wild dogs that have been trapped or killed in the State”.