The ever-growing dama wallaby population around the Rotorua area is being highlighted in a new national wallaby awareness campaign.
The campaign, named the Tipu Mātoro: Wallaby-free Aotearoa, highlights the extensive damage wallabies wreak on the environment and asks people to report anywallaby sightings.
MPI state, the dama wallaby in the Rotorua area and the Bennett’s wallaby in Canterbury and North Otago are causing millions in damage each year.
“Wallabies silently prey on the futures of our forests and farms," says. John Walsh, Biosecurity New Zealand’s director of response.
“We are working in partnership with regional councils, local iwi, farmers and landowners through Tipu Mātoro to manage and reduce populations, but we need everyone’s help,"
“If left unchecked, by 2025 wallabies would cost New Zealanders around $84 million a year in damage and over the next 50 years, they could spread through a third of the country,”
Walsh says, “If you spot a wallaby, please do your bit and report it at www.reportwallabies.nz."