Man pleads guilty to killing dingo with shotgun on K’gara (Fraser Island)

A Queensland court heard how a dying dingo made a “terrible, alarming sound” before it bled to death from a gunshot wound on K’gara (Fraser Island) earlier this year.

Digon man Paul Kirkcaldy, 57, pleaded guilty in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Monday to charges of taking natural resources from a conservation area and using a firearm in a recreation area.

The court heard that Mr Kirkcaldy shot the dingo with a shotgun while camping with his partner and friends at Wyuna Campground on April 19 this year.

The man’s barrister, Mitch Jamieson, told the court that a group of dingoes had been seen near the campsite throughout the day, which had been a “constant stress” for Mr Kirkcaldy.

A dingo sniffs the ground near a pair of straps left by the car — The dingo is a protected native species on K’gari. (ABC Wide Bay: Pat Heagney)

Later that night, after drinking some alcohol, Mr Kirkcaldy decided to “frighten or frighten” the dingo with his gun, Mr Jamieson said.

Attaching a cork to the point of the spear to blunt it, Mr. Kirkcaldy shot the male dingo with it.

Magistrate Stephen Guttridge admitted that the 57-year-old had intended to “simply kick the back” of the dingo’s legs.

“(But) it struck with such ferocity and such force, it went right through the animal and caused its death.”

The witness said the dingo was making a “painful, disturbing sound” and “an animal’s scream and cry”.

An autopsy by the Department of Environment and Science later determined the dingo had died of “exsanguination” or bleeding.

Mr Jamieson said his client was “immediately struck with an overwhelming sense of guilt” and buried the dingo.

The following day, Mr Kirkcaldy reported the incident to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Rangers and led them to the dingo carcass.

One dingo is lying on the sand — Under the Nature Conservation Act it is an offense to intentionally harm, interfere with or interact with a dingo. (Flickr: Sam Fraser-Smith, Canis lupus dingo, CC BY 2.0)

Department of Environment and Science lawyer Vivian Rossi-Price told the court that because Mr Kirkcaldy had been a spearfisherman for 30 years, he should have easily foreseen the consequences of his “highly reckless” actions.

“Fraser Island dingoes have significant conservation value because of their iconic status,” Mr Rossi-Price said.

“The death of the dingo has ultimately undermined the purpose of protecting national parks in the most serious way.”

Between 100 and 200 dingoes live in K’gar.

The court noted that the killing of a male dingo with breeding potential affected the future viability of the population.

A submission from the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation has been made to the court about the significance of the dingo in Aboriginal culture.

The statement “reads like a victim impact statement,” Judge Guttridge said.

Mr Jamieson told the court his client worked as a bricklayer and was a widower with one grown-up child.

Media coverage of the incident and related gossip in his workplace left Mr Kirkcaldy with “a sense of shame” which forced him to leave the employer, the court heard.

Mr Kirkcaldy wiped tears from his face as Judge Guttridge delivered his closing arguments.

Magistrate Guttridge saw mitigation in the fact that Mr Kirkcaldy himself reported the incident.

Mr. Kirkcaldy was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, two years of probation and a $5,000 fine.

He was also ordered to pay court costs of $1,500.

Criminal record is not recorded.