Vandals hit virtual fence which helps devils not become roadkill
Van Dairy’s Mr Lu says he too is upset that work being done by his company and the Circular Head Council to protect Tasmanian Devils is not being respected. LATEST >>
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THE part-owner of the historic Woolnorth dairy farm in the state’s North-West says he is upset and angry over damage to a virtual fence built to protect Tasmanian devils on the property.
Xianfeng Lu said he was distressed and frustrated to hear that important work to extend the
devil fence on Woolnorth Rd had been disrupted by vandals.
On Wednesday, the Circular Head Council reported to Tamania Police that posts put up to hold technology which discourages devils from going on the road and getting hit by traffic had been destroyed.
Mr Lu said Van Dairy and the Circular Head Council were working hard to protect the iconic
Tasmanian devil.
“Saving the devils is a priority for us and we are working very hard every day to achieve that,” Mr Lu said.
“It is outrageous that vandals have damaged a section of the fence during installation.
“Van Dairy has some of the last devil facial tumour disease-free populations
and, as the custodians of the land, we respect that immensely.
“These fences are part of our commitment to supporting the healthy devil population.
“We take our responsibility for environmental and wildlife protection very seriously and to
see this kind of destruction is very upsetting.”
Last year Van Dairy set aside over 10 percent of its total farm area, or 1800ha to
provide devil habitat.
“Setting aside this land, which was previously earmarked for development, represents a
significant financial investment for the company in the order of tens of millions of dollars. It
is the equivalent of five dairy farms and 5000 cows,” Mr Lu said.
“In addition to the land set aside for the devils, Van Dairy has also begun replanting thousands of trees to help re-wild the area.
“We have put in place protocols to ensure that farm workers avoid contact with the devils,
including while driving.”
‘We are furious’: Leader’s rage after vandals destroy devil fence
VANDALS have damaged part of the virtual fence being built to help protect Woolnorth’s healthy population of Tasmanian devils from being killed by traffic - and the local mayor is furious.
A number of newly installed guide posts at the Woolnorth Rd Virtual Fence Project, in the state’s far North-West have been broken.
Circular Head Council staff began installing guide posts along Woolnorth Rd last week, with plans to attach virtual fencing sensors this week.
The sensors are designed to detect oncoming traffic and then send out signals to alert animals that something is approaching and warn them away from the road.
The system has proved already successful in reducing the Tasmanian devil road kill toll at several sites including Arthur River where the number of devils killed on the road has halved.
“We are furious about what happened last night,” Mayor Daryl Quilliam said on Wednesday.
“Tasmanian devils have been in grave danger from the devil facial tumour disease for a long time now and their numbers are down throughout the state because of this.
“This is one of the last remaining strongholds of healthy devils in Tasmania but they
are suffering in this area through road-kill and we are trying to protect them.
“This vandalism has increased costs but most importantly it leaves our Tasmanian devils in continued danger from traffic while repairs are completed. Whoever did this
must be stopped and Tasmania Police is investigating.”
The Greens Senator for Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson labelled the vandalism “senseless and infuriating”.
“But we must not allow it to deter or slow our efforts to protect Tasmanian devils from becoming roadkill, especially not in one of the last remaining bastions for healthy devils in Tasmania,” Senator Whish-Wilson said.
“I expect the police to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident, and hope Circular Head Council will now put in place security measures - such as hidden cameras - to protect this critical mitigation project. “
If anyone has any information about this incident, please contact Tasmania Police on
131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Originally published as Vandals hit virtual fence which helps devils not become roadkill
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