Australian fined 40,000 US dollars for feeding dogs

Nov 4, 2010, 0:34 GMT

Sydney - Australian authorities said Thursday that the 40,000-Australian-dollar (40,000-US-dollar) fine handed to a Queensland wildlife photographer who fed wild dogs on Fraser Island sent a warning to other members of a dingo welfare lobby group.

'I beg people to obey the law when they visit Fraser Island, not only for their safety but the safety of others, particularly children,' Queensland Sustainability Minister Kate Jones told Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper.

Jennifer Parkhurst, a member of the volunteer National Dingo Preservation and Recovery Programme, pleaded guilty to 46 counts of feeding dingoes, telling the court she did so because they were starving.

Fraser Island, popular with tourists, is home to the last pure- bred dingo population. Rangers say the wild dogs fed by visitors lose their fear of humans and become aggressive.

'They say I've been interfering with dingoes while taking photos,' Jones said after being fined and given a nine-month suspended jail sentence. 'I've been vocal about management and also have been writing a book. They've been trying to find out what's in it.'

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