Autumn Wild Dog and Fox Baiting Programs NSW 2026: What Farmers Need to Know

Why Autumn Is the Most Important Baiting Window

If you are going to bait for wild dogs and foxes once a year, make it autumn.

Graeme Christopherson at Lower Lewis Ponds went from over 600 ewes to breeding just 47 lambs. Bill Alders at Taralga lost 60 sheep in a single summer, with another 70 maimed. Laura Luton at Shannons Flat lost 23 sheep to wild dogs and can no longer use 200 hectares of her own property. These are not unusual stories. They are what happens when predator numbers go unchecked heading into winter.

Wild dogs come on heat between March and May. They are more active, covering more ground as they search for mates, and more likely to encounter baits along their travel routes. Baiting now means fewer pups born in June through August. Every breeding female you remove in autumn prevents a litter of five pups from hitting your lambing paddocks next spring.

Foxes follow a different pattern but the timing works just as well. Juvenile foxes start dispersing from their natal dens in autumn, looking for new territory. These young animals have never encountered baits before and are far more likely to take them than established adults. At the same time, food sources decline as summer dries out, making foxes more food-motivated and less cautious around bait stations.

Dean Chamberlain, LLS Team Leader for Invasive Species, puts it plainly: “Baiting in autumn and spring plays a key role in managing wild dog and fox populations. It reduces predation on livestock and helps protect native species.”

The numbers make the case. Wild dogs cost Australian producers $89 million per year in lost production and management costs. Foxes cost NSW sheep producers $19 million per year in lamb losses alone. A single fox can account for 2 to 4% of your lamb drop. On a mob of 500 ewes, that is 10 to 20 lambs.

Autumn baiting is not a silver bullet. But it is the single most cost-effective step you can take to reduce predator numbers before they do the most damage. For how autumn baiting fits into the full year of pest control activities, see our annual pest control calendar for NSW.

NSW 2026 Autumn Baiting Programs: Region by Region

The NSW Government’s autumn 2026 offensive is the largest coordinated baiting program in years. Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty announced the campaign on 16 March 2026: “Every wild dog we remove can mean fewer lambs lost, less stress on cattle and real savings for producers.”

Since July 2023, NSW has distributed over 1.5 million baits across all 11 LLS regions. Aircraft have covered approximately 40,000 kilometres of strategic bait lines. More than 6,000 landholders have completed VPIT training. The program is backed by the Government’s $1.05 billion biosecurity commitment, with $14.7 million allocated specifically for 2025-26 feral pest control.

Here is what is happening in each region.

Hunter LLS

Free pest animal baits are available from 1 April to 30 June 2026 for approved properties. Baits will only be placed on properties approved through Hunter LLS and will not be placed within 500 metres of any domestic residence. The Hunter region covers Cessnock, Dungog, Gloucester, Great Lakes, Greater Taree, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton, and the Upper Hunter.

Contact your local biosecurity ranger to find or join a wild dog control group in your area.

Contact: 1300 795 299

Northern Tablelands and North West LLS

Aerial and ground baiting programs are confirmed for autumn 2026. The 2025 program covered the area from Walgett in the west to Mungindi and Tenterfield in the north, and south to Quirindi. Programs are conducted jointly with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry Corporation of NSW, covering 39 or more Wild Dog Control Association zones and 50 or more NPWS-managed lands.

Northern Tablelands contacts: Glen Innes 02 6732 8800, Armidale 02 6770 2000, Tenterfield 02 6739 1400, Inverell 02 6720 8300

North West contacts: Tamworth 02 6764 5900

Western LLS

Aerial baiting ran from 25 March to 1 April 2026, covering areas from Enngonia in the northeast to Broken Hill in the west and Pooncarie in the southwest. Operators applied 10 baits per kilometre along predetermined bait lines. Ground baiting commenced after aerial operations and continues through late April.

For context, last year’s program distributed over 300,000 baits across 6 million hectares in Western NSW.

Fox baiting incentive: Wing baits are available at $0.60 each (reduced from $0.70). Landholders who purchased 1080 fox baits in spring 2025 can receive the same quantity of fox baits in autumn 2026 at no further cost. Eligibility requires VPIT certification, LLS ratepayer status with no outstanding payments, and participation in a coordinated group of at least 3 neighbouring holdings.

Contact: 1300 795 299 or [email protected]

Central Tablelands LLS

Free pest animal baits available from 1 April to 30 June 2026. The Central Tablelands Wild Dog Management Plan 2021-2026 is in effect, and a professional wild dog controller program has removed 102 or more wild dogs and other pest animals since February 2020.

Contact: 1300 795 299

South East LLS

Free bait collection is available for landholders who join a Feral Fighters group. South East LLS works alongside 13 wild dog working groups and various community-led programs.

Contact: 1300 795 299 or Cooma office 02 6455 7200

Riverina and Murray LLS

Coordinated baiting available through Feral Fighters groups in both regions.

Contact: 1300 795 299

All Other Regions

All 11 LLS regions are participating in the 2026 autumn offensive. If your region is not listed above, call 1300 795 299 to find your nearest LLS office and ask about baiting programs in your area.

How to Participate: Step by Step

The barriers to joining an LLS baiting program are lower than most farmers think. Here is exactly what you need to do.

Step 1: Get VPIT Certified

All landholders must hold VPIT (Vertebrate Pesticide Induction Training) or AQF3 Chemical Accreditation to participate in any 1080, PAPP, or Pindone baiting program.

VPIT is:

• Free
• Available online through Tocal College or face-to-face through LLS
• Takes about 3 hours to complete
• Valid for 5 years
• No prior knowledge or experience required
• Covers legislation, baiting techniques, toxicity, storage, transport, and reducing non-target exposure

Over 6,000 landholders have completed the course since July 2023. You can start today.

Step 2: Contact Your LLS Biosecurity Officer

Call 1300 795 299. Ask for the biosecurity team in your region. Tell them you want to participate in the autumn baiting program for wild dogs, foxes, or both. They will:

• Explain what programs are running in your area
• Connect you with a local wild dog control group or Feral Fighters group
• Help you form a coordinated group with neighbours if no group exists (minimum 3 neighbouring holdings for some programs)
• Arrange a risk assessment for your property

Step 3: Coordinate with Neighbours

This is the step that makes the difference between a program that works and one that does not.

Feral predators do not respect property boundaries. If you bait your place but your neighbours do not, foxes reinvade within 2 to 6 weeks. Wild dogs simply shift to the next property and circle back. PestSmart research consistently shows that coordinated, landscape-scale baiting delivers the best results.

Talk to your neighbours. If they will not participate, document the conversation and report the situation to LLS. Under the General Biosecurity Duty, every landholder has an obligation to manage pest animals on their property.

Step 4: Collect and Deploy Baits

Once approved, collect subsidised or free baits from your regional LLS depot. Call your biosecurity officer at least 3 days before your planned collection date.

Before deploying baits:

• Notify all neighbours whose property boundary lies within 1 kilometre, at least 3 days before baiting begins
• Post warning signs at all entry points to baited areas
• Signs must remain in place for a minimum of 4 weeks after the last day baits are laid

Ground Baiting: Practical Guide

For detailed information on how 1080 and PAPP baits work, read our full guide. This section covers the practical field work.

Bait Placement

Wild dogs: Bury baits in a shallow hole and cover with approximately 10cm of soil. Space baits 250 to 1,000 metres apart along fences, tracks, trails, and areas frequented by wild dogs. If quolls are present in your area, increase spacing to at least 500 metres.

Foxes: Space baits 500 to 1,000 metres apart at a density of 1 to 4 baits per square kilometre. Focus on movement corridors: vehicle tracks, ridgelines, dry creek beds, crop edges, and boundary fences.

Mark all bait sites with tape or pegs so you can find them for checking and recovery.

Bait Types

Checking and Replacing

• Wild dog baits: Check every 1 to 3 days and replace those taken
• Fox baits in small areas (under 5,000 hectares): Check every 2 weeks
• Fox baits in large areas (over 5,000 hectares): Check every 4 to 6 weeks
• Fresh meat baits: use within 7 days of preparation
• Manufactured baits: use within 1 month of issue
• Collect all uneaten baits at the end of the program

PPE Requirements

When handling 1080 or PAPP baits, wear:

• Cotton overalls
• Washable hat
• Elbow-length PVC or nitrile gloves
• Face mask

Wash hands, arms, and face with soap and water after handling. Do not eat, drink, or smoke while handling baits.

Keeping Your Working Dogs Safe

This is the section every farmer with a kelpie, collie, or Maremma needs to read.

Working dogs are the most susceptible domestic species to 1080 poisoning. There is no reliable antidote. Symptoms appear 2 to 20 hours after ingestion, starting with restlessness, then progressing to uncontrolled vomiting, urination, defecation, frenzied running, convulsions, and death.

The ANZ valued Australia’s working dog industry at $3 billion annually in August 2025. These dogs are not just tools. They are partners. Losing one to accidental poisoning during a baiting program designed to protect your livestock is devastating, and it is preventable.

Prevention

Confine dogs during baiting. Keep all working dogs well away from baited areas for the duration of the program and for at least 4 weeks after the last bait is laid. This includes areas on neighbouring properties.

Muzzle dogs that must travel through baited country. A properly fitted muzzle prevents ingestion of baits and scavenging of poisoned carcasses. Poisoned carcasses can remain toxic for up to 75 days in cool conditions.

Know the boundaries. Your LLS biosecurity officer can tell you exactly which properties are baiting and where bait lines run. NSW law requires neighbours within 1 kilometre to be notified at least 72 hours before baiting.

Do not let dogs scavenge. A dog that eats a poisoned fox or wild dog carcass will receive a lethal dose of 1080 through secondary poisoning.

Emergency Response

If your dog has ingested a bait within the last 20 minutes:

1. Induce vomiting immediately with a tablespoon of washing soda crystals (sodium carbonate) placed on the back of the tongue. Do not use salt.
2. Get to a vet as fast as physically possible
3. Call the Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738

Once clinical signs appear (agitation, convulsions, difficulty breathing), the prognosis is extremely poor. Speed is everything.

PAPP as an Alternative

PAPP baits (DOGABAIT for wild dogs, FOXECUTE for foxes) have one significant advantage over 1080: there is an antidote. Methylene blue reverses PAPP poisoning by converting methaemoglobin back to functional haemoglobin. However, it must be administered intravenously by a veterinarian within 30 to 60 minutes of ingestion.

On most rural properties, that timeline is not realistic. PAPP is a step forward, but it is not a safety net you can rely on. Prevention remains the only reliable protection for working dogs.

For the full comparison between 1080 and PAPP, including availability and cost differences, read our complete guide to 1080 and PAPP baits.

Canid Pest Ejectors: Baiting That Works Around Your Dogs

If you run working dogs and buried baits make you nervous, canid pest ejectors (CPEs) are worth asking about.

A CPE is a ground stake fitted with a piston mechanism and a capsule of 1080 solution inside a bait head encased in meat. When a wild dog or fox pulls on the meat, the piston squirts the solution directly into the animal’s mouth. The key difference from buried baits:

1. You can deactivate them when farm dogs need to work in the area, then reactivate afterwards
2. Muzzled dogs cannot trigger them, because the mechanism requires a pulling action

Cattle can be excluded from CPE areas by placing ejectors in fenced-off paddock corners or existing fenced windbreaks.

Ask your LLS biosecurity officer about CPE availability in your region. Not all areas have them, and you will need training before deploying them.

When Baiting Alone Is Not Enough

Baiting is the foundation of predator control in NSW. It is the most cost-effective method at scale, and coordinated programs through LLS are the backbone of the system.

But farmers across NSW are seeing the limits.

Graeme Christopherson at Lower Lewis Ponds captured trail camera footage that told its own story: “We’ve had dogs captured on cameras going up to the baits and even urinating on them, then just walking on.”

This is not an isolated case. Older wild dogs learn to avoid baits. Research from Wyperfeld National Park found that non-target species consumed 88% of buried baits, while wild dogs and foxes accounted for only 12% of interactions. Ground baiting in particular struggles with experienced animals that have survived previous programs.

Why Integrated Pest Management Works

The solution is not to abandon baiting. It is to combine it with other methods that target the animals baiting misses.

Baiting reduces the population at scale, particularly young and inexperienced animals. This is the first step.

Trapping catches wary animals that have learned to avoid baits. Soft-jaw traps along known travel corridors can remove the individuals that survive baiting programs.

Ground shooting with thermal optics targets specific animals during peak activity periods. After baiting and trapping have reduced numbers, a targeted shooting operation can remove the remaining holdouts.

Monitoring with trail cameras and thermal drone surveys confirms whether the program is working. Without monitoring, you are guessing.

Each method reinforces the others. Baiting removes the easy targets. Trapping catches the bait-shy survivors. Shooting takes out the ones that avoid traps. Monitoring tells you when to shift from one method to the next.

This is the difference between “we did a bait run” and “we reduced the wild dog population by 70%.” And that 70% matters: PestSmart research indicates that a minimum annual removal rate of 70% is needed to suppress pest populations. Below that, they recover.

Your Legal Obligation

Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, every landholder in NSW has a General Biosecurity Duty to prevent, eliminate, or minimise biosecurity risks from pest animals on their property. Wild dogs and foxes are explicitly covered.

Participating in coordinated LLS baiting programs is one of the clearest ways to demonstrate you are meeting that duty. For more on what wild dog control programs and funding are available in NSW beyond baiting, see our guide to wild dog management in NSW. For a complete list of every free program, grant, and loan available to help cover your pest control costs, see our pest control funding guide for NSW farmers. You have records showing you completed VPIT training, joined a coordinated group, deployed baits on a schedule, and checked them according to protocol. If an authorised officer ever asks what you are doing about pest animals, that documentation is your answer.

Penalties for non-compliance can reach $220,000 for individuals and $1.1 million for negligent breaches. Read our full guide to the General Biosecurity Duty for what “reasonable steps” actually means in practice.

Regional Contacts

Need help beyond baiting? When coordinated programs are not enough to control wild dogs or foxes on your property, professional integrated pest management fills the gaps. Contact us for a free phone consultation and we will assess your situation, identify what methods will work on your country, and give you a clear quote. Or call us directly on 0493 417 929.