The founders of the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre, Lyn and Peter Watson, have sent dingoes to New Zealand and now have orders from America.

The pair, who brought legal ownership of dingoes to Victoria in 1994, care for 30 pure adult dingoes at their 40-acre Government-accredited sanctuary, the world's largest premier breeding and rescue centre for dingoes.

Ms Watson, a world-renowned hound expert and qualified dog judge, has been inundated with inquiries from international zoos since Victoria moved to declare the dingo a threatened species last October.

"Last year, we sent a pair to Wellington Zoo in New Zealand. We have orders from zoos in America, inquiries from Brazil and tentative inquiries from France," she said.

"We could never have started to export without the declaration and Victoria is the only state to have done that so far."

Ms Watson said most of the zoos were keen to breed the dingoes to help save the species. "It is our dream come true. The dingo will probably be in safer hands outside Australia than in it."

"The sad thing is nobody knows how many dingoes we have left because no government has ordered a survey. But we do know it's scarce."

Healesville Sanctuary dingo keeper Sue Jaensch estimates that fewer than 100 pure alpine dingoes are left in the state.

"They are unique to Australia and they should be protected. The number one thing people can do to save the species is to ensure they are responsible pet owners."

For almost the past two decades, the Watsons have selected, rescued and protected dingoes, mostly the 'alpine' type.

They won a six-month fight with the State Government to get laws under the Catchment and Land Protection Act changed to allow for private ownership of the animal and started

with eight pet dingoes at their former Keilor property. A decade ago, they moved to Toolern Vale to expand their work.