Bonorong director Greg Irons wants answers on crop protection permits as the Greens launch a petition for an inquiry

The head of a local wildlife sanctuary wants to know why thousands of native animals are being culled at the same time his team is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to save them.

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary director Greg Irons, with wombat Millie, says it is “infuriating” to see so many native Tasmanian animals being culled. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

THE head of a Tasmanian wildlife sanctuary says his team will move elsewhere unless he is satisfied with answers as to why thousands of crop protection permits are being handed out to cull native animals.

Last month, data requested by the Mercury under Right to Information revealed the numbers of native animals culled under crop protection permits in the past 4½ years.

GREENS ANGRY OVER ‘WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER’ OF WILDLIFE

Documents showed more than 12,000 permits had been issued for the culling of animals in Tasmania, including galahs, green rosellas, wombats and platypuses.

The Greens have started a petition calling for a parliamentary inquiry into wildlife protection and management in Tasmania.

“We’re very concerned crop protection permits and game licences are being handed out without any evidence or justification,” Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff said.

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PERMITS ALLOW HUGE NUMBER OF ANIMALS TO BE CULLED

STAGGERING TOLL OF NATIVE WILDLIFE CULL

RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT BEHIND ISSUING OF CULL PERMITS

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary director Greg Irons said seeing the numbers of native animals killed was not just disappointing, but infuriating.

“My staff and supporters work their butts off trying to save some of these animals so when we see silver eyes, green rosellas, yellow-tailed black cockatoos — these are animals we’ve spent thousands of dollars on trying to save in our clinic at our expense and then permits are just being given out to shoot them, it’s infuriating,” he said.

“We want some answers. We want to know the answers before we keep spending half a million dollars a year trying to save these animals or we’ll just pack up and head elsewhere to somewhere that cares and where our work is valued.”

Primary Industries Minister Guy Barnett said there were a number of tools available to help property owners manage wildlife.

“Where wildlife is causing damage, a crop protection permit may be granted to enable applicants to cull the wildlife if alternative, non-lethal strategies are neither effective nor practical,” he said.

“The results of long-term wildlife population monitoring indicates the abundance of species subject to such permits remain stable or are increasing, indicating that quotas for crop protection permits are not being abused.”