About 200 dingoes live on K’gari. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)

Traditional owners say they are heartbroken over a decision to cull dingoes involved in the death of Canadian backpacker Piper James on K’gari.

Ms James’s body was found surrounded by a pack of about 10 dingoes on a beach on the eastern side of the island on January 19.

A coroner’s report found while the 19-year-old was bitten by dingoes before she died, drowning was the most likely cause of her death.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Tourism euthanased six dingoes involved in Ms James’s death, and is expected to cull more in the coming days.

Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) said it was a sad day for the island and the community.

“The lack of consultation with traditional owners was unexpected and disappointing,” a spokesperson said.

“These decisions are difficult for everyone involved, and I understand there may be complexities behind the scenes.

“However, it is challenging to accept such significant actions without open communication or involvement from those most affected.”

The statement said dingoes, known as wongari in Butchulla language, were an essential part of the island.

“Once again, it feels as though economic priorities are being placed above the voices of the people and traditional owners, which is frustrating and difficult to accept.”

For years, the BAC has been calling for visitor numbers to be capped, as dingo interactions with humans continue to rise, including more incidents of aggressive behaviour.

Dingo expert Bradley Smith from CQ University said culling dingoes did not fix the underlying problem.

“The main problem is people. It’s a people problem on the island, not a dingo problem,” he said.

“People don’t have the respect for dingoes as a predator … They don’t follow all the guidelines and the rules around how to behave around dingoes.”

Dr Smith said the social media influence had also played a role.

“Whether it’s the change in people’s perspective about travelling and wildlife, or whether it’s the Instagram culture type idea where people really want the right photo and the right experience with nature,” he said.

In July 2023, two women were fined $2,300 each for interacting with the animals, including taking a selfie with sleeping pups.

Mother’s anguish

Piper’s mum, Angela James, said while she was upset dingoes would be culled, she was also relieved it meant improved public safety.

“I can’t imagine having somebody else go through the pain that we’ve had,” she said.

“The thoughts that run through your head at night when you go to sleep and imagine what happened to your baby girl and how she spent the last moments of her life, I can’t have anybody go through that.

“Piper made a mistake, 19-year-olds are supposed to be able to make mistakes and it’s not supposed to cost them their lives, but this one did.”

Ms James and Piper’s dad, Todd James, are planning to visit Australia in the coming weeks.

She said the support from Australians had been “phenomenal”.

“We’ve had complete strangers who didn’t even know Piper reach out and give their condolences,” Ms James said.

Tourism concerns

Long-time K’gari resident Russell Postle said the state government’s swift response would “give people comfort that the heightened risk may be mitigated”.

“That’s going to be beneficial to the confidence for people to feel less threatened when they move around the island,” he said.

Mr Postle is a partial owner of the Galangoor K’gari Retreat and said the potential impact on the business wouldn’t be felt straight away.

“What we won’t see is those who have considered making a booking and haven’t yet done so, and who may make other choices,” he said.

“That’s where you see a different impact, but one that we can’t measure necessarily.”