Wombats cause all sorts of grief for our farmers. But is killing these furry marsupials the only answer?
Farmers and landholders often see wombats as a threat to their livestock and machinery. It's true, wombats can cause damage to fences by pushing through them, or to machinery by digging burrows that wheels can get stuck in.
But wombats are also native Australian animals. We've already decimated two species of wombat, with a third, the northern hairy nosed wombat critically endangered. So, wouldn't it make sense to encourage our families and friends to live with wombats rather than to harm them?
Ways we can help wombats are to:
Leave existing burrows alone: wombats will only dig new ones if we destroy their old ones.
Install wombat gates in livestock fences to allow wombats to come and go without destroying the fences
Plant overgrazed areas with native grasses to stop erosion
Fence burrows off from livestock using electric fences
If you'd like to learn more: some fabulous websites are:
