Key Takeaways
- The Bay of Plenty and Waikato regional councils are part of the Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme, a collaborative effort to prevent the spread of wallabies and control their populations.
- Wallabies have a significant impact on native flora, preventing forest regeneration, changing forest structure, and reducing the ability to support native birds and other wildlife.
- The programme uses a range of tools, including thermal optics, drones, and specially trained wallaby indicator dogs, to locate and control wallaby populations.
- Landowners and managers can contact their council biosecurity staff for advice on wallaby control options, and sightings can be reported online at reportwallabies.nz.
- The programme aims to progressively reduce the size of the containment area and develop new tools for eradicating wallabies.
Introduction to the Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme
The Bay of Plenty and Waikato regional councils are part of the Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme, a collaborative effort between Biosecurity New Zealand, iwi, the Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird, Federated Farmers, Land Information New Zealand, farmers, researchers, landowners, and communities. The programme’s success relies on preventing the spread of wallabies from areas where they are already established, known as the containment area, and progressively working inwards with control over time. The containment area falls mostly in the Bay of Plenty but crosses the border into the Waikato around Rotorua.
The Impact of Wallabies on Native Ecosystems
Wallabies have a huge appetite for many of New Zealand’s native flora, which prevents forest regeneration in the long term, changes the forest structure, and reduces their ability to support native birds and other wildlife. They also love pasture grasses, which means they compete with livestock for food. The impact on plantation forests can also be significant, with Timberlands estimating that the one meter of growth normally expected in the first year from plantings can be reduced by half when browsed by wallabies. If the spread of wallabies is not stopped, they will have even more significant impacts on native ecosystems and through lost farm and forestry production.
Challenges in Controlling Wallaby Populations
Wallabies are nocturnal and cautious, making them hard to find and control. Current programme activity is focused on surveillance and control of "satellite" populations in areas outside of the containment area, in buffer areas within containment at critical locations of potential spread, and to reduce reinvasion where control has been undertaken. The use of thermal optics mounted on firearms and thermal and IR cameras mounted to drones has been a game-changer during night-shooting operations. Contractors with specially trained wallaby indicator dogs and trail cameras are also used to locate and determine the extent of wallaby populations.
Strategies for Controlling Wallaby Populations
Where wallaby populations are confirmed outside of the containment area, councils work with landowners to plan and deliver wallaby control, currently at no cost to landowners. In the longer term, the focus is on strategically targeting wallaby populations inside the containment area. With the help of landowners, iwi, and community groups, the aim is to progressively reduce the size of the containment area while simultaneously researching and developing new tools for eradicating wallabies. Coordination is key, as sporadically targeting large numbers of wallabies via night shooting can cause them to become "gun-shy" and scatter them into new or previously cleared areas.
Tools and Resources for Wallaby Control
A 12.5km wallaby-proof fence was completed last year, running from Rotorua along State Highway 5, following the boundary of Whakawerawera Forest to Lake Rotokākahi. The fence helps to stop wallabies from crossing the highway and spreading south, where wallaby control is successfully reducing their numbers. Retrofitting wallaby-proof netting to existing fences has also been undertaken at other potential spread points. Landowners and managers located within the containment areas can contact their council biosecurity staff for advice on wallaby control options to suit their situation.
Reporting Wallaby Sightings
Wallabies are classified as an "unwanted organism" under New Zealand’s Biosecurity Act 1993, making it illegal to hold, breed, display, move, or transport them without specific authorisations. There are also rules in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato’s regional pest management plans that make it illegal to keep live wallabies. It is essential to remember that wallabies are pests, not pets. Sightings can be reported online at reportwallabies.nz, and depending on the location in relation to the containment area, the sighting may result in the use of detector dogs or trail cameras.