Fox dog lotto winner

Betty Wallace, from Booroorban, is Murray Local Land Services final weekly Fox Dog Lotto winner for the autumn fox baiting period.Betty, who has been fox baiting in the region for the past 30 years, received a bag of dog food as the weekly prize and has been entered in the draw for the major prize of $2000 credit at a rural merchant of the winner’s choice.The Wallace family run a Merino sheep flock on their property and have found that controlling foxes has had many benefits to their enterprise.When Betty and her husband Mac first arrived at their property, North Run, the normal expected lambing survival percentages were about 60 per cent.When this plummeted to 20 per cent, Betty knew that something had to be done.‘‘After fox baiting twice a year, the percentages jumped straight away to over 100 per cent,’’ she said.Better management processes also contributed to the improvement, but the Wallaces feel that the big increases are a result of Betty’s fox baiting.Besides the obvious economic benefits, the family is also delighted at the positive impacts it has had on biodiversity.‘‘There was also an explosion of ground birds and native animals, which all improve our environment,’’ Betty said.Betty continues to bait each autumn and spring and has until recently been the longstanding group baiting coordinator in the Booroorban area.Dedicated coordinators across the region work to rally their neighbours to participate in group baiting and ensure better coverage in their areas.The major prize winner of Fox Dog Lotto is announced each year at the Henty Field Days.All purchases of baits to control foxes and wild dogs during the year are automatically entered into the draw.