A fence running across South Australia is being used by the government to define whether a controversial native animal is treated as a “wild dog” or a “dingo”.

Dingoes living on the north side of the Dog Fence are managed as “native animals” and those to the south are required to be “destroyed”.

A revised South Australian government plan aims to “virtually eradicate” the “wild dogs” south of the fence using baits and other control measures.

“Outside the Dog Fence, dingoes have important cultural and ecological roles and so they are managed as native animals under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972,” the government’s draft policy states.

“Inside the Dog Fence they are managed as wild dogs, which all land managers are required to destroy under the Natural Resources Management Act.”

View photos Authorities say dingos north of the fence play an important ecological role, while those to the south should be eradicated. Source: Getty More

The government’s planned eradication is controversial, especially when it comes to terminology.

University of NSW Research Fellow Dr Kylie Cairns has put her name to a submission protesting new enforcement measures and argues that use of the term “wild dog” is misleading.

“They are inappropriately using the term wild dog when referring to dingoes,” she told Yahoo News Australia.

“Generally that’s done because people are more supportive of lethally controlling wild dogs because they think that they’re just feral domestic dogs.

“If (the government) were clear and transparent and said that they were dingoes, they’d find people would be less supportive of the controls.

View photos Dingoes on the south side of the Dog Fence are treated as wild dogs in South Australia. Source: Getty More

The government did not respond to questions from Yahoo News Australia about their use of language used to describe dingoes as wild dogs.

‘No feral dogs found’ in South Australia

Anecdotally, graziers say dingoes are becoming heavier, losing their purity, and having more than one litter a year.

The government echoes their concerns, and argues their eradication measures are helping to prevent hybridisation of the species.

Dr Cairns disagrees, and points to research conducted in 2015 which she says formed her conclusion there are few if any feral dogs with a dingo purity below 75 per cent in South Australia.

“There is deep misunderstanding about the DNA test results of dingoes across Australia, people think there are few or no pure ones left and that is simply not accurate,” she said.

“DNA testing in South Australia has found that 82 per cent of the animals are classified as pure dingoes and the remaining 18 per cent were greater than 75 per cent dingoes.

“They found no feral domestic dogs.”

View photos The Dog Fence runs through the Painted Desert where dingoes have lived for thousands of years. Source: Getty More

Dr Cairns says she is particularly concerned about any baiting around the Ngarkat Conservation Park which contains dingoes she believes may be a “unique and distinct” population.

The data is yet to be published, but early indications suggest the animals in this region have a distinct lineage and look quite different to other populations.