Canine confusion: NSW 'wild dogs' found to be dingoes or dingo-hybrids

Researchers say study dispels belief that state no longer has 'real dingo' populations

Almost all of the so-called wild dogs in New South Wales that are killed to protect livestock are actually dingoes or "dingo-dominant hybrids", according to new research.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales said their DNA sampling project showed between 9% and 23% of the "wild dogs" in the state had only dingo ancestry, challenging a notion that most dingo populations had died out.