Eleven Tasmanian devils reported to have been killed on road in state’s North West

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: After just 10 days into the new year, 11 Tasmanian devils have turned up dead on a single stretch of road in the state’s far North West, horrifying locals.

Eleven Tasmanian devils are said to have been killed on a road in the state’s far North West this month, with one local describing the carnage as “disgraceful”.

The recent spate of devil deaths on Montagu Rd, between Montagu and Woolnorth, comes nearly a year after reports emerged of more than 30 devils being killed on Woolnorth Rd in less than three months.

Dead Tasmanian devil roadkill on Montagu Rd near West Montagu in Tasmania's North-West. Picture: Supplied

The devil population in the far-flung corners of Tasmania’s North West is believed to be the last remaining healthy population in the wild, yet to be affected by the deadly devil facial tumour disease.

West Montagu resident Colleen Murfitt said she and other concerned locals had recorded 70 devil deaths on the stretch of Montagu Rd last year.

“It’s just disgraceful,” she said. “I don’t know what we’ve got to do.”

“I really despair for the future of the devil.

“They’re wiping it out at a rate of knots in every direction.”

Ms Murfitt suggested that the prevalence of dairy and cattle farms in the area may be exacerbating the problem, with traffic increasing.

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson. Picture: PATRICK GEE

Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said it wouldn’t take long for the local devil population to be “wiped out” if the roadkill issue wasn’t addressed soon.

Senator Whish-Wilson said the Circular Head Council and the state government needed to work to install signs on the road to indicate that devils were in the area, as well as devil-proof fencing.

“The devil population is still very much endangered in this state,” he said. “Especially if we’re going to lose this many to roadkill.”

The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP), a joint initiative of the Tasmanian and Commonwealth governments, was established as a response to the existential threat posed by the devil facial tumour disease in 2003.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, which oversees the program, said the department was “aware of recent reports of roadkill in the state’s North West”.

Tasmanian Devil

“An annual spike in roadkill devils is recorded during the summer months across the state and is thought to occur because juvenile devils disperse from their mothers’ dens at this time of year, sometimes using roads to travel,” she said.

“Numbers of roadkill in the Woolnorth area generally correlate with the high density of devils known to be present in this area and high levels of reporting devil roadkill.

“The (STDP) conducts yearly devil monitoring in the area. Surveys from July 2021 indicate the population remains stable with no devil facial tumour disease detected, however all devil roadkill is of concern.”

Follow @rg_inglis

Originally published as Eleven Tasmanian devils reported to have been killed on road in state’s North West