In today’s show, Betty interviews Sonya Takau from Dingo Culture and Alix Livingstone from Defend the Wild all about the native Australian dingo. We learn about the character of the dingo, their role in Australian ecosystems and what makes them unique. We go on to discuss some of the significant threats facing the dingo and strategies for securing their future led by First Nations land custodians.

Sonya Takau is a Jirrbal Rainforest Aboriginal woman living in Tully, Far North Queensland. The dingo is highly significant to Sonya and her family. To Sonya, the dingo is kin, and she has a cultural obligation to protect them from harm. As well as Sonya’s cultural ties to the dingo, she has a particular personal passion for the species and shares her home with an orphaned wild-dingo named Bina.

Sonya is the director of Dingo Culture, a platform dedicated to representing the Aboriginal perspective on the dingo, which has been drowned out for the past 233 years. Dingo Culture’s mission is to create legislative change to recognise and protect dingoes as culturally significant animals.

In 2023, Sonya played a key role in bringing about the first of its kind National Inaugural First Nations Dingo Forum, which brought together First Nations people from across the country to have their say on current dingo management across the country. At the conclusion of the forum a historic National First Nations Dingo Declaration was produced, which outlined the cultural significance of the dingo and called for a new, non-lethal, model - caring for Dingoes on Country.

Alix Livingstone is the Founding Director of Defend the Wild. She is motivated by a desire to address the complex challenges confronting Australian wildlife. Alix possesses a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to collaborating with various stakeholders on the ground to ensure that solutions can be found that benefit wildlife, ecosystems, and communities.

Alix is highly skilled in crafting high-impact public awareness campaigns aimed at reshaping public perceptions and driving positive change. She actively participates in lobbying efforts targeting Government and peak industry bodies to advocate for legislative and policy reforms that prioritise the welfare of communities, wildlife, and the environment.

Alix spearheaded the development of Defend the Wild's Dingo campaign, which was featured on ABC's 7.30 program, shedding light on the government-sanctioned treatment of Dingoes across Victoria. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in launching the #DropCroc campaign, featured on Channel 10's 'The Project,' unveiling the practice of factory farming Saltwater Crocodiles under the guise of conservation.

For more information follow and support:

Dingo Culture:

https://www.dingoculture.com/

Defend the Wild:

https://www.defendthewild.org/

Music played:

Run Dingo – Nooky:

https://soundcloud.com/nooky-mc/run-dingo

Dingo - Buddy Williams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L9zkHGSBr0

Dingo - Ruby Fields:

https://soundcloud.com/rubyfields-music/dingo

You can subscribe to 3CR here: https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribe and you can nominate Freedom of Species as the show you want to support.