An “inhumane” program that used surgically sterilised dingoes as a form of pest control for goats on a far north Queensland island has been shut down by the state government.

The Hinchinbrook shire council had decided to release dogs implanted with time-delayed poison pellets on Pelorus Island, north of Townsville, to kill baby goats as a form of pest control.

The plan was slammed by the RSPCA and community groups as “outright” animal cruelty.

The Queensland environment minister, Steven Miles, on Thursday issued conservation orders to shut down the program and remove all dingoes from the island within 14 days.

Miles said that in the 1990s a similar plan saw dingoes released on Townshend Island but it later caused problems for native birds.

“Pelorus Island currently has no significant predators to the birds on the island,” he said.

Bird species on the island included a threatened species of ground-dwelling shorebird, the beach stone curlew.

The minister also said while some Liberal National party members had contacted him concerned about the “horrendous” plan, the Hinchinbrook MP, Andrew Cripps, declared his support.

“He thinks it’s a cracking idea,” Miles told parliament.

The MP for Moggill, Dr Christian Rowan, wrote to Miles late last month saying the situation was being considered “as horrendous as the recent live baiting greyhound scandal”.

“Whilst both dingoes and feral goats can be a problem for farmers, there is surely a more humane way to deal with them,” he wrote.

The chief executive of RSPCA Queensland, Mark Townend, welcomed the decision to shut the program down.

“We felt there were significant animal welfare issues,” he said.

The Hinchinbrook shire council has been contacted for comment.