Agriculture Minister Ros Spence has acknowledged the stress experienced by producers facing uncertainty over the control of wild dogs in the north-east of the state.
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"I understand the stress that this is having on farmers," she said.
A wild dog unprotection order in north-east Victoria is due to expire on October 1 and farmers in the region waited on the Minister's next move.
A review was being undertaken on the merits of the unprotection order, which allowed farmers to control wild dogs in their area, and anticipation was building for its outcome.
In an interview in Melbourne with Stock & Land, Minister Spence said she would "not sit on" the review's findings and would act to give farmers certainty on the unprotection order as a matter of urgency.
However, she would not be drawn on her own view as to whether the order should be extended or not.
That said, Ms Spence leaned into justifying any extension and suggested that the circumstances that led to the ending of a similar order in the north-west of the state earlier this year were not applicable.
"We have two very different scenarios in the state," she said.
"In the north-west of the state, the wild dogs or dingoes are in lower numbers and predation of livestock is in lower numbers," she said.
"In the east of the state, there's much higher numbers and much higher predation even with the unprotection order in place.
"This is a complex issue where the review is being undertaken at the moment.
"Hopefully we can provide more clarity to everyone going forward."
Ms Spence said she and her team "absolutely" understood the fears of sheep producers in the north-east.
She said she had consulted with them and that their views had been taken on board and refuted any claim otherwise.
"Any predation [by wild dogs] is devastating for farmers and my thoughts are with anyone who had to deal with that," she said.
"I think the wild dogs issue is a very complex one."
Sheep farmer Clinton Ried, Tallangatta, said while the Minister's comments were welcome, "actions speak louder than words".
"Common sense would see the [unprotection] order extended," he said.
Mr Ried said neighbours of his had had several lambs killed and sheep chased through fences by wild dogs as recently as last week.
"The problem never goes away and it's always here," he said.
He said any failure by the Minister to extend the unprotection order beyond October 1 would cause "devastation" for north-east Victoria's sheep and cattle producers.
He also disagreed with Ms Spence's assertion that the north-west of the state wasn't facing as big a wild dog issue.
Mr Ried said farmers there had experienced a severe uptick in wild dog attacks since their unprotection order was removed suddenly in March.
"Everyone should have a right to protect their animals no matter where they are," he said.
He said "politics is politics" and acknowledged that the Minister needed to wait until the review of the north-east unprotection order was completed.
However, he suggested she could advocate more for the affected farmers in his area.
"We would like a bit more consultation with farmers here," he said.
"[The Minister] could be a bit more on the ground."
Ms Spence said she was also "absolutely" concerned about any impact wild dogs, and other pest species, were having on agricultural production, such as livestock losses through predation.
"Anything that's having an effect on production, concerns me because that's also having an effect on profitability," she said.
"My aims are to make sure that this industry is as strong as possible and that can only be the case if productivity and profitability are key.
"These things are often of great concern to farmers and I would encourage them to always bring that to the attention of Agriculture Victoria so we can respond."
