The ACT Government has rejected claims it is moving towards lethal management of wombats, after the ACT Greens raised concerns about a draft report examining how the ACT manages wombat populations.
ACT Greens deputy leader Jo Clay said the draft, revealed through questions during the Annual Reports process, could reclassify wombats as a controlled native species, which would legally permit them to be killed by farmers, but lacked clear ecological evidence.
“It’s extremely unlikely the community will support farmers killing wombats, especially without a solid ecological and animal welfare evidence base showing that it’s necessary,” she said.
She said the draft relied heavily on anecdotal information, noting the government had acknowledged there was no formal assessment of the impact wombats have on landholders, and that only three of the ACT’s 381 farmers had been consulted.
Ms Clay said farmers should first be supported to properly trial non-lethal management methods, and called for broader consultation, including with wildlife carers and First Nations people. She has requested a formal briefing from the government on the report.
In response, an ACT Government spokesperson said suggestions the government was planning to authorise the indiscriminate shooting of wombats were “unequivocally false”.
The spokesperson said wombats would remain a protected native species under the Nature Conservation Act, and that no change to their protection status was being proposed.
“The ACT Government seeks to adopt a holistic and informed approach to managing wombats, balancing species conservation and population health with the protection of infrastructure and rural landholders’ assets, in line with community values,” the spokesperson said.
The government said the draft review focused on supporting non-lethal management methods, education and training for landholders, and improved coordination for the release of rehabilitated wombats.
The spokesperson said limited options for humane euthanasia could be explored only in cases where wombats suffered from severe mange.
The government said bare-nosed wombats are not a threatened species and are listed as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, adding that while comprehensive population data is lacking, numbers are widely understood to have increased in the ACT over recent decades.
The draft technical report is being shared with targeted stakeholders, including conservation groups, rural leaseholders and the Ngunnawal community, to ensure information is accurate and that stakeholder views are represented before it is finalised.
