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© Amanda BrownCamp dogs.
Seven dogs believed to have attacked and killed a Kimberley teenager have been destroyed.

The 18-year-old woman was found dead in the backyard of a house in Fitzroy Crossing on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Andrew Stephens said that while she had been mauled by dogs, it was not clear whether that had caused her death.

"Unfortunately this young girl was found deceased, and she'd received injuries which were consistent with dog bite wounds, " he said.

"But at this stage the cause of her death has not been determined.

"She's been sent down to Perth now for a post-mortem and we're waiting for the results of that, but unfortunately it will take some time to determine how this girl died and what the circumstances were."

Pets known as "camp dogs" or "cheeky dogs" are common at homes in the Kimberley, with aggressive animals wandering the streets in many towns and remote communities.

In recent years, shires have been cracking down on the high number of animals being kept at some properties.

AMRRIC (Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities) has run dog desexing programs in the Fitzroy Valley in recent years, to try to reduce the number of neglected animals.

Police have confirmed seven dogs were found at the house where the woman died.

All were seized and have been put down.

Senior Sergeant Stephens said aggressive dogs were a well-known problem in the area.

"There are a lot of dogs in the communities and there are a lot of programs locally both by Nindilingarri (Cultural Health Service) and by the council to control the numbers of dogs," he said.

"But the numbers do get high in some houses.

"This is definitely a very tragic incident and it's had a huge impact on the community - not only the family but the people that live in the area and the police officers as well."

The chief executive of the national animal welfare group SAFE, Sue Hedley, said the death was a tragic reminder that dogs could be aggressive pack animals.

"It's vital that the numbers are kept down," she said.

"This is an extreme situation but if the right circumstances for them are provoked - lack of food, lack of training, lack of supervision, that pack mentality - it's a risk in areas where there's a dog over-population."

A report is being prepared for the coroner.