Why this man was lucky to ONLY be fined $2300
A man has been slapped with a fine after feeding a wild dingo some biscuits.
The 23-year-old was on Fraser Island, about 250km north of Brisbane, and was photographed by a local feeding the dingo - known as wongari in the local Indigenous dialect - back in April.
The images were sent to Queensland’s Department of Environment and Sciences (DES) who issued the man a $2,300 fine.
“A member of the public told rangers the man was at the front of the vehicle line while he was waiting for the ferry at Hook Point back in April,” DES compliance manager Mike Devery said in a statement.
“The person said the man was ‘brazenly’ feeding the wongari, and given his place at the front of the queue, his offending was witnessed by multiple people.
“Thankfully, the member of the public was able to take photos of the man as he fed the wongari, and they provided them to rangers.”
Mr Devery confirmed that after being questioned, the man admitted to feeding the dingo.
“The man told compliance officers that he threw biscuits in the sand to the wongari when he was cleaning out his vehicle.”
The man was lucky to be only fined $2,300 as a court can fine a whopping $11,500 for humans feeding the wild animal.
With around 400,000 people visiting the island, Mr Devery said the rules were in place to help protect both people and animals.
Image: Queensland Department of Environment and Sciences