Wild Dogs 10/8/11

A group of Victorian researchers hope dingo urine could become a weapon in the fight against wild dog populations.

The group aims to detect the distinct scents in the urine that send no-trespassing messages to other dogs, as a non-lethal way of controlling the animals that are classed as pests.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment, the body leading the research, says wild dogs cause about $18 million worth of damage to agricultural production in Victoria each year.

Advertisement: Story continues below "We know that dogs mark their territories with urine and that the chemicals in the urine contain messages that other dogs understand," DSE scientist Alan Robley said.

"The research aims to isolate those chemicals and work out which odour is responsible for sending the no-trespassing message."

Dr Robley says the ultimate goal was to develop a product that could act as a barrier to wild dogs entering farms or suburbs.

The researchers have tested urine samples from eight dingoes and identified more than 20 chemicals.

"So far the dominant smells in the urine have been identified as resembling a mixture of strawberries and cardboard," Dr Robley said.

The DSE will trade its dingo data with researchers in Botswana who are working on identifying chemical signals in the urine of urine of wild African dogs.

AAP



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/animals/urine-could-hold-key-to-wild-dog-control-20110803-1ib80.html#ixzz1UYzuz6ag