Strategy targets wallaby eradication
A draft plan promoting the eventual eradication of the country’s wallaby population is under development.
The National Wallaby Management Strategy, to be launched to the public by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in a few months, has dual goals of containment of wallaby within the containment zones, which in South Canterbury alone covers about 900,000 hectares of land, and possibly ultimate eradication after this.
There are also wallaby con- tainment zones in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Canterbury, and Otago. Although no dates have been set to achieve the dual goals, MPI senior advisor Andrew Stewart said he hoped to get the public onboard.
‘‘We need the awareness of the public about the problems wallabies cause,’’ Stewart told Stuff.
‘‘The problem is that they look so cute and cuddly that some people don’t seem to realise the damage they cause to productive land and local plant species. Ultimately, we want people to view wallabies similar to how we view possums or stoats.
‘‘In order to eliminate the wallaby population, we need to focus on eradication outside the containment zones, and work back from there,’’ he said. ‘‘Otherwise we will be chasing our tail.’’
Stewart said while shooting wallabies was one option, there was the tendency for wallabies to get ‘‘shy’’ if people missed. He said the most effective methods were pellets and 1080 poisons.
However, such methods were labour-intensive, and locked up productive land and were contentious with the public, Stewart said. ‘‘That’s why we’re constantly looking for new technologies to help reduce the population of this pest,’’ he said.
MPI was working with organisations such as Environment Canterbury, Department of Conservation, Nga¯ i Tahu, Federated Farmers and Forest and Bird, to help develop the eradication strategy.
‘‘So it’s got some fair highpowered organisations behind it,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘It’s a nationwide problem, and it needs everyone’s help. We need to get the message out that it’s not acceptable to keep wallabies.’’
Stewart presented his proposal to an ECan biosecurity committee meeting on Monday.
Several people at the meeting suggested there should be a goal for containing the wallaby population by 2035.