Known as the ‘Black’ dog by his pursuers, he was regularly caught on camera and sighted during daylight hours roaming the district in a wide area west of Muswellbrook but he never touched any baits or traps set for him.

For landholder Harry Bray, the dog was to become his worst nightmare as his property ‘Woodland Grove’ was the dog’s preferred hunting ground and, during the past 12 months, he killed 160 of his fine wool Merino sheep.

“He was simply too street smart for us,” said Richard Ali, Senior Biosecurity Officer, Hunter Local Land Services.

“We threw everything at him for two years  – ground and aerial baiting, traps and surveillance but we couldn’t stop his killing spree and we were concerned he was going to become another absolute menace, like the dog that we called Hannibal Lecter, who operated on Norm Black’s property west of Scone for six years.

“But we played a trick on him early Saturday morning, parked our vehicle where Harry usually parks his truck, and using a thermal rife scope trapper Jonathan Randle took him out.

“Fortunately we were in the right place at the right time and everything went to plan.”

Commenting on the dog’s death Mr Bray said he was so grateful for the trapper’s work and it was a very emotional time for him after 18 months of trying to destroy the pest.

“He has been the been the worst dog ever on our property – nothing could match him when it came to killing our sheep. It’s marvelous he has gone and now the trappers are concentrating on taking out the bitch who was always with him,” said an elated Mr Bray.

With wool reaching record prices, strong demand for sheepmeats and the fact sheep have handled the drought in the Upper Hunter better that cattle eradicating wild dogs becomes even more important for many producers.

Mr Bray said he usually runs 1000 Merinos on his property but the arrival of the Black dog had reduced that number to 740.

“Our sheep have handled the drought reasonably well and we were lucky to be under some storms in late February and March which boosted pastures,” he said.

“If we can get these wild dogs under control all the better for sheep producers like myself.” 

Mr Ali said the death of the latest serial pest proved the work of trappers walking the hills and really sticking to the task of removing him was worthwhile.

“We were at our wits end with this dog as he had killed the night before we got him and we knew the impact he was having on Harry and other landholders,” he said.

Assisting in the hunt for the dog was the National Parks and Wildlife Service as he travelled into the Manobalai Nature Reserve. 

The other good news for landholders is the success of the Upper Hunter Professional Wild Dog Controller Program which hit its straps earlier this year with increased services available in the Singleton, Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter local government areas, targeting problem wild dogs and helping reduce attacks on livestock.

This program was worth nearly $1 million, over the four years, and was made possible thanks to a significant grant from Australian Wool Innovation. Other key investors included Glencore, Bengalla Mining Co. and National Parks and Wildlife Services.

Mr Ali said to date the program had employed three full-time trappers working across the Merriwa, Murrurundi and Stewarts Brook districts; and taken out 40 wild dogs.

“That’s a significant number of dogs that will no longer be a headache to sheep producers,” he said.

“Our aim is to work to protect the region’s sheep assets and with our success more sheep can be safely run in the region.”