It came after the Victorian Nationals released its alternative plan to control the pests earlier this month, including a push to increase farmer representation on the WDMA committee.

The Victorian Farmers Federation has challenged the state government to take on board a proposal to make its $6.2 million wild dog management scheme more efficient by introducing a competitive tender process for aerial baiting.

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars is currently spent on spring and autumn aerial baiting, but if the contract to bait wild dogs went out to tender, the government could save money and invest more in expanding the program,” VFF Land Management Committee chairman Gerry Leach said.

“Companies would be bidding against each other for the contract and the aerial baiting could be achieved for a much better price than we are currently seeing,” Mr Leach said.

While he believed the government’s program was working well, Leach said the VFF also supported a push to increase the number of landholders on its Wild Dog Management Committee.

“The Committee sorely needs to be led by farmers with experience in wild dog management because these are the people who understand the seriousness of the problem,” he said.

“The current program is working well, but we have to think about where efficiencies can be made, and we believe these adjustments would make the scheme more affordable for the Government to roll out.”