Wallabies essential to native fauna, says scientist Jamie Kirkpatrick

BIG wallaby populations help endangered animals including the Tasmanian devil, says a Tasmanian scientist.

University of Tasmania scientist Jamie Kirkpatrick.

BIG wallaby populations help endangered animals including the Tasmanian devil, says University of Tasmania scientist Jamie Kirkpatrick.

The Sunday Tasmanian yesterday reported chefs and farmers calling for wallabies that were culled to be redirected into meat production.

A WASTED RESOURCE?

More than one million wallabies are shot each year in Tasmania, many by recreational shooters.

Professor Kirkpatrick, a specialist in wallabies, what they eat and their impact on the environment, said while they were a burden for ­farmers, wallabies helped maintain cleared areas that favoured species in trouble, especially quolls, Tasmanian devils and wedge-tailed eagles.

“They keep the environment open so it can support carnivores,’’ Prof Kirkpatrick said.

“Pademelons and Bennett’s wallabies eat exotic plants, so we don’t have the same problems in ­native bush with weeds.’’

He agreed that culled wallabies should be used, not wasted, but that they naturally died from starvation when numbers were high.

The professor said fencing and professional shooters were the best way to manage wallabies, and 1080 poison was the worst.

“Fencing is very expensive, and animals can starve anyway.’’

He said his preference would be not to cull the Maria Island wallabies, but to let nature take it course.

“[But] tourists don’t like to see animals dying of starvation next to their tent.’’

Wallabies were also food for carnivores, including the devils introduced there.

Wildlife parks have repeatedly complained about shooters dumping bagfuls of sick joeys at their doors. Guidelines state that joeys should be humanely killed.