Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The state government in Queensland, Australia, is considering a classification change that would allow for dingoes to be kept as household pets.
The Queensland Department of Primary Industries is weighing a potential change that would see dingoes reclassified as Canis familiaris, also known as domestic dogs.
The change is being considered as part of a review of Queensland's biosecurity laws ahead of legislative amendments expected to be made in the spring.
Dingoes are currently classified as an invasive species in the state, meaning they cannot be released, relocated, fed, sold or kept.
"Dingoes will continue to be protected in national parks and landholders will still be able to take action to protect their livestock from wild dog or dingo attacks under the general biosecurity obligation," a Department of Primary Industries representative told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The potential rule change has already received some push back from wildlife advocates and experts.
"Dingoes are not dogs," Alix Livingstone of the nonprofit Defend the Wild wrote in her submission to a Department of Primary Industries discussion paper. " They are a genetically, evolutionarily, and behaviorally distinct species that play an irreplaceable ecological role as Australia's apex land predator."
Kylie Cairns, a genetics researcher specializing in dingoes, said the canines do not make suitable pets.
"They're more wild so they don't do as well in home environments as domestic dogs," she said. "They're much smarter, they're much better able to escape traditional domestic household home environments in terms of climbing up fences, and so they just don't generally fit into most domestic settings as easily."
Dingoes are currently legal to keep as pets in New South Wales and Western Australia, but rescue groups said many of the animals end up being abandoned or surrendered by their owners.