New technology is emerging that will detect wild dogs and send an alert to the farmer, helping to protect valuable livestock.

In the frosty New England highlands of New South Wales, researchers have been trialling an invention that looks like it could have come from the set of Dr Who.

Currently at the prototype stage, the Wild Dog Alert Node combines some of the most innovative modern technology available to oversee the welfare of livestock.

"It detects the presence of a predator and sends a message via the satellite to the cloud, and then warns the property owner that there's a predator there," project leader for the Wild Dog Alert Paul Meek said.

"Farmers can then take action to protect their stock and work with neighbouring properties and wild dog management groups to deal with the situation immediately, as a prevention."

Dr Greg Falzon and Jaimen Williamson fit a solar panel to the Wild Dog Alert node, which is currently being weather-tested in NSW. ( Supplied NSW DPI )

Led by Dr Greg Falzon, researchers from NSW DPI and the University of New England have partnered with Australian Wool Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources through the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, to deliver the new tool.

Using a tri-sensor system allowing a 360-degree detection zone, the sentinel uses an in-built camera and recognition software.

Dog attacks exacting heavy financial, mental tolls on farmers

It is every farmer's nightmare — walking out in the morning to find wild dogs have attacked the lambs or calves, killing and maiming animals in a spree of violence.

The emotional stress of dealing with the aftermath of a dog attack and the huge financial cost of the loss of valuable livestock is taking its toll on farmers across the country.

Wild dogs cost Australian agriculture between $50 million and $60 million a year, and industry and government bodies have been investigating new ways of controlling dog numbers and protecting livestock.

Wild dog predation costs Australian agriculture between $50 million and $60 million a year. ( Supplied: Dr Lee Allan )

"Dog predation is a huge mental health issue for farmers," Dr Meek said.

"I know farmers who say that when their sheep are lambing, they lie in bed just worrying about what is going on, they cannot sleep for the worry.

"It is very exciting to be developing something that will be able to take away that worry.

"The fact that we are now able to tell everyone that we are using 360-degree sensor technology is incredibly exciting, this is putting technology into the field and it's a tool that will be helpful to a wide range of people."

Early warning 'will be a huge help'

Mark Horan farms at Braidwood, on the NSW southern tablelands, where he says there are increasing numbers of dogs being sighted.

As the Senior Vice President of the NSW Farmers Association, he has been very vocal in his calls for increased investment in dog control, both from industry and from government.

Mark Horan is a vocal champion of the need for a more proactive approach to wild dog control. ( ABC: Sally Bryant )

He said he welcomes the ground-breaking technology, and says it will be a very useful tool to use in conjunction with dog control methods such as baiting and trapping.

"I am very firm in my desire for a more proactive approach to dog control," he said.

"Technology like this is excellent, if it is also accompanied by sufficient resources being put into controlling the actual dogs.

Researchers have developed an algorithm that allows trap cameras to recognise wild dogs near livestock. ( Supplied NSW DPI )

"It will be a huge help to have early warning that the dogs are there, but we also need to make sure we are getting rid of them."

Dr Meek said that the current sentinel prototype is only the beginning.

"We actually have lots of different projects and devices and tools that are going to come from the development of wild dog alert," he said.

"There's a lot of software we've built to incorporate in this system, and those sorts of software programs are going to be globally accepted by camera-trap practitioners.