Dozens of deer found surrounding the body of a young Canadian man after he died at sea in Australia will be killed, government officials announced Saturday.
Piper James’ family said the 19-year-old from Campbell River, BC, went swimming Monday morning at the beach in K’gari, an island off the east coast of Australia.
Police in the state of Queensland said his body was found shortly after, surrounded and “disturbed” by a pack of 10 dingoes, a type of wild dog.
In an online statement, a spokesperson for the government’s Department of Environment and Tourism said on Saturday that they are aware of the results of the post-mortem examination which show that a dingo bite may not have been the cause of James’ death.
The statement said rangers monitoring wild dogs this week saw “aggressive” behaviour.
“Following the findings of the initial autopsy, the pack’s involvement in the incident, and observations since then, the pack has been deemed an unacceptable risk to public safety,” the statement said.
“The Dingoes involved in Monday’s incident will be treated with dignity.”
Minister Andrew Powell said in a similar statement that while euthanizing animals is a difficult decision, it is “the right call.”
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“This tragedy has deeply affected the people of Queensland and touched the hearts of people around the world,” he said.
A short post on social media from Todd James, Piper’s father, said the announcement was “sad, sad news.” He notes that the final autopsy report is yet to be released.
She previously said her daughter’s “smoking party” will be in Australia, and the family hopes to attend. They are expected to bring his remains home next week.
A GoFundMe campaign to do so had raised just over $20,000 as of late Saturday.
James had been traveling around Australia since October with a friend, also from Campbell River, and had found work in K’gari, a world heritage site that is a popular destination for backpackers and other tourists.
K’gari, the largest sand island in the world, is known for its large number of dingoes. The Queensland government is strongly warning visitors to be “dingo safe.”
Two beach campsites have been closed until the end of February, and lifeguard patrols have increased since James’ death.
There have been a series of dingo attacks on K’gari, also known as Fraser Island. In addition to the 2023 incident, we also include the death of a nine-year-old child in 2001.
Australia’s most famous dingo attack — the death of two-month-old baby Azaria Chamberlain in central Australia in 1980 — inspired the 1988 film “A Cry in the Dark,” starring Meryl Streep as the baby’s mother, who was wrongly convicted of murder.
Friends and family said James was a “brave little girl” with an infectious laugh and dreams of becoming a pilot. Her mother, Angela James, said her daughter loved motocross, camping and swimming.
A preliminary autopsy of James’ body, released earlier this week, shows there were “pre-mortem” bites in addition to evidence consistent with drowning.
The Queensland Coroners Court said the coroner was awaiting pathology results to continue to help determine the cause of death.
This process is expected to take several weeks.
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