could keep an eye on them. Another two, Monster and Joy,
danced around the ute snapping at the bees while I grabbed
the lyspray and tried to fumigate the kennels. I prepared the
doggie dinners, and by the time that was done the kennels
were empty of bees. I cleared the the remaining bees and wa-
tered and fed the dogs in their kennels in the ute.
I was woken abruptly at 1.30am. he dogs were barking fran-
tically and the caravan (still attached to the ute) had taken on
the life of a buck-jumper. I had never heard that tone of bark
before nor felt the urgency that was reverberating from the ute
through the caravan...the danger and panic. I had knots in my
stomach with the thought of what I would face if I went out-
side the door. I eventually summoned the courage to head out-
side. My beautiful Monster was panicking in the kennel clos-
est to me and I immediately thought the bees must be back.
My irst reaction was to let him out. I released the catch and
he tried to barge through the small gap that I had created
when I saw the look in his eyes and the lash of his teeth....he
was manic. As I slammed the kennel door in his face I sadly
realised that this was something far worse than bees and my
Monster was likely dying from poisoning. Monster’s sister, Joy,
started to panic in her kennel on the other side of the ute. I
thought she was upset by what was happening to Monster. I
went to comfort her on the other side and I realised that she
too was dying. Monster came across to that side of the ute
too. I was alone in the dark, in the middle of the desert and
my dogs were frantic and dying. I was in tears and in shock.
here was nothing I could do. To open the kennels I would risk
being bitten or losing my dying dogs into the night. I couldn’t
stroke my beautiful dogs to soothe them as they died. I stroked
their noses with one inger through the aluminium grille and
soothed them with whatever I could think of to say so that
they would hear my voice. I told them I was sorry and that
there was nothing I could do to help them this time, unlike all
the other times they got into mischief. It was the most horriic
night of my life....
It was all over in 15 minutes....
hank goodness the managers at the next roadhouse were un-
derstanding when I arrived distraught at 6am. hey ofered
me cofee and hugs, and allowed me to use the ire hose to
clean out the back of my ute. (Monster and Joy had lost control
of their bowels and there was not a kennel that didn’t need
hosing out. Fortunately their was no regurgitation which can
also be a danger to the other dogs if it is eaten).
With the nearest vet seven hours drive and the weather warm-
ing up it was a diicult but necessary decision to leave the
bodies of my devoted companions behind, and the managers
kindly ofered to take care of them for me. It is an experience I
would not wish upon anyone.
he stations in outback Australia are kilometre upon square
kilometre of land and the pastoralists are only required to put
signage at the entrance to their properties. hey are provided
with strict permits (those in Western Australia governed by
Department of Agriculture) and must adhere to guidelines
such as “must not bait within 250 metres of a road” amongst
other restrictions.he baits come in a few diferent forms but are oen lumps of
red meat (eg. camel, horse or kangaroo) cubed into 5 cm blocks.
hey are spread on drying racks and when dry enough they
are injected with the 1080 poison. he baits are oen spread
around a station by dropping them from a light plane or from
a vehicle. Unfortunately they are not tethered or secured to a
particular spot and can be carried far from the original place of
baiting by birds or other animals which can lead to them being
found in public parking places or close to roads or roadhouses!On asking the question I discovered that I wouldn’t know
what a bait looked like if I tripped over one! By the time they
have sat in the sun and kicked around the desert dust for
awhile they apparently look like a piece of bark from a tree.
It appears that my dogs had to have picked up the bait(s) in
that signposted parking bay while I was distracted by the bees.
he manager at the next roadhouse (70km away) said he had
found baits around the parking areas at the roadhouse, where
no baiting is allowed, on more than one occasion.I know fellow triallers who make the trip across the Nullarbor
as quickly as possible without overnighting, allowing each dog
to relieve itself individually on lead. Others tie out their dogs
on a peg line overnight, but even this could expose your dog
to a bait lying unrecognisable in the dust.he only positive to be taken from my night of horror is
the resultant action taken by the WA Department of Agri-
culture. On hearing about the incident from a fellow travel-
ling sheep dog trialler who was worried about bringing her
own dogs back across the Nullarbor Plain, they asked that
I contact them. I related my entire story and as a result the
WA Department of Agriculture has erected ten brand new
2m x 1m warning signs along the highway across the Nul-
larbor in the pastoral areas where baiting is conducted.he downside? his is only in WA. here are still hundreds
and hundreds of kilometres across the Nullarbor in other
states where baits are distributed and signage is not overtly
visible. I have learnt a lot since that horriic night and have
come to the conclusion that NOWHERE IS SAFE FROM
THE DANGER OF 1080 BAITS, even the little country track
around the corner from your home farm! hey could be an-
ywhere! It’s rather ironic that I have just bought a new farm
and my next door neighbour is using CPEs on his property!Having come out the other end of this experience I am now
overly cautious about where and how I choose to walk my
dogs and can only think that I will use a combination of meth-
ods to keep my dogs safe when travelling in the future.http://www.stockdogs.com.au AWSDM 55