WOMBAT RESCUE
Community rallies behind species
A MAJOR fundraising campaign to buy land in Tasmania to create a wombat sanctuary is about to be launched, while a group established to find and treat mange-infected animals becomes an army of more than 2000 volunteers.
Wombat Rescue volunteers are working on the ground as far afield as the Tasman Peninsular, Circular Head and the Midlands.
They are also working behind keyboards to raise awareness of how serious the wombat’s plight is and put pressure on the State Government to completely ban the shooting of healthy wombats in light of the sarcoptic mange crisis.
The group now has bigger species-saving plans up its sleeve, including approaching big business for help to buy land in the state’s North to establish a wombat conservation facility.
It also plans to rally on the lawns of the Tasmanian Parliament as it presents a petition to the Government — which already has more than 30,000 signatures — to stop the issuing of wombat culling permits.
While the Government revoked three permits in June because of public pressure, Wombat Rescue wants culling stopped completely — or at least put on ice until the mange epidemic is under control.
Leading the fight is experienced wildlife rescuer Kim Rettig — the president of Wombat Rescue — who, at 52, has decided to dedicate the rest of her life to saving Tasmania’s wombats from being wiped out by the disease. Ms Rettig, of Howden, near Margate, said the community’s response to the call for help had been simply phenomenal.
“It is a really positive community story about a catastrophic situation,” Ms Rettig said. “It is now time to make more noise and generate bigger plans because we have to act and act now.”
Ms Rettig is personally looking to buy land near her home on which to raise wombats orphaned through road deaths and the mange epidemic.
At the same time she is ready to drive a broader fundraising campaign to buy two parcels of land in the state’s North-East to turn into a sanctuary where wombats can be treated and kept safe from re-
infection. She hopes big business will get behind the plan now Wombat Rescue is about to become a Deductible Gift Recipient, which will allow donors to claim a tax deduction.
“The opportunity is there to take this to the next level and it is too big an opportunity to not take up,” she said.
The group has its eye on two parcels of land, making up almost 25 hectares. It will need about $700,000 to buy the land and set up the conservation facility.
There are already plenty of wombats and burrows on the land, but it could also be used to relocate and release wombats moved from other mange hot spots across the state.
Ms Rettig was already working as a Bonorong wildlife rescuer and had founded Suckers for Wildlife when she heard about wombats in Narawntapu National Park being almost completely wiped out by the spread of mange.
As revealed by the Mercury, the disease has now spread with diseased and dead wombats being found at Yolla, Smithton, Cradle Mountain, Musselroe, down the East Coast, Dysart, Boyer and through the Tasman Peninsular. Monitoring has shown 50 per cent of Tasmania’s land mass is now impacted.
On Friday, a report was made about a disorientated wombat infected with mange drinking from a puddle in the middle of the day on the road between Oatlands and Interlaken. Two volunteers from Hobart hit the road early to find and treat the animal.
But it was a television report last year that took Ms Rettig’s focus from saving pademelons and Tasmanian devils from becoming roadkill to the state’s wombat crisis.
“I saw John Harris from Wombat Warriors on the news talking about what was happening to the wombats around Kelso and I thought ‘I have to help these guys’,” Ms Rettig said.
After spreading the word in Tasmania’s South, Ms Rettig was soon joined by others.
“The phone did not stop ringing,” she said.
“My whole life was then taken over by wombat manage. But I couldn’t do what I do without the help of others.”
Ms Rettig is about to head to Victoria to train with Sleepy Burrows Wombat Rescue and learn about potential new treatment methods.
“Apparently there is a chewable tablet which can cure mange,” she said.
“I understand Scott Carver, from UTAS, is working on that as part of his research.”
Dr Carver’s research is being funded by part of the $100,000 the State Government put up last year as the wombat’s plight hit the news.
It will look at how wombats can be treated on a “whole-ofpopulation” scale.
There are also long-term plans to restore a wombat population at Narawntapu, which need to be investigated.
“Our research suggests that effective management of mange may be achieved by establishing barriers — either physical or immunological — to pathogen spread across populations or, where feasible, by administration of a population-scale treatment,” a paper prepared by Dr Carver and associates says.
A State Government spokesman said a range of cooperative actions were already under way, and funded, as part of efforts to enhance understanding of the status of wombat populations statewide.
“These are focused on identifying and implementing the most appropriate treatments to assist the welfare of mangeaffected wombats,” he said.
Those efforts include a grant deed being signed for $35,000 with Conservation Volunteers Australia to undertake surveys to identify mange prevalence at several locations across Tasmania.
A grant deed is also being finalised for $35,000 with the University of Tasmania to de- termine the safety and effectiveness of a specific treatment for use on mange-affected wombats.
“At this stage three applications for funding have been received from community groups. Two of these have already been paid and the third has been approved and payment is being finalised with the group,” he said.
While the research on potential new mange treatments is being undertaken, Wombat Rescue will continue to make burrow flaps, a homemade drenching system that is placed at the entrance to burrows.
As the wombat enters the burrow it is drenched with Cydectin, which has been proven to cure mange.
The frames, which the group has had to buy in the past, are now being made for free by Tasmanian engineering firm Petraitis Engineering.
The organisation needs more four-litre ice cream container lids and two-litre milk bottle lids to make the burrow flaps.
It is a really positive community story about a catastrophic situation ... It is now time to make more noise and generate bigger plans because we have to act and act now KIM RETTIG