Almost all wild canines in Australia are genetically more than half dingo, a new study led by UNSW Sydney shows – suggesting that lethal measures to control 'wild dog' populations are primarily targeting dingoes.

The study collates the results from over 5000 DNA samples of wild canines across the country, making it the largest and most comprehensive dingo data set to date. 

The team found that 99 per cent of wild canines tested were pure dingoes or dingo-dominant hybrids (that is, a hybrid canine with more than 50 per cent dingo genes). 

Of the remaining one per cent, roughly half were dog-dominant hybrids and the other half feral dogs.

"We don't have a feral dog problem in Australia," says Dr Kylie Cairns, a conservation biologist from UNSW Science and lead author of the study. "They just aren't established in the wild.

"There are rare times when a dog might go bush, but it isn't contributing significantly to the dingo population."

The study builds on a 2019 paper by the team that found most wild canines in NSW are pure dingoes or dingo-dominant hybrids. The newer paper looked at DNA samples from past studies across Australia, including more than 600 previously unpublished data samples. 

Pure dingoes – dingoes with no detectable dog ancestry – made up 64 per cent of the wild canines tested, while an additional 20 per cent were at least three-quarters dingo.

The findings challenge the view that pure dingoes are virtually extinct in the wild – and questions the widespread use of the term 'wild dog'.

"'Wild dog' isn't a scientific term – it's a euphemism," says Dr Cairns. 

"Dingoes are a native Australian animal, and many people don't like the idea of using lethal control on native animals.

"The term 'wild dog' is often used in government legislation when talking about lethal control of dingo populations." 

The terminology used to refer to a species can influence our underlying attitudes about them, especially when it comes to native and culturally significant animals. 

This language can contribute to other misunderstandings about dingoes, like being able to judge a dingo's ancestry by the colour of its coat – which can naturally be sandy, black, white, brindle, tan, patchy, or black and tan.

"There is an urgent need to stop using the term 'wild dog' and go back to calling them dingoes," says Mr Brad Nesbitt, a co-author on the study.

"Only then can we have an open public discussion about finding a balance between dingo control and dingo conservation in the Australian bush."

Do you agree with the policy of lethal control of the dingo population in Australia?