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Download AudioA Te Arawa biosecurity expert says a wider range of tools may be needed to bring the plague of wallabies under control,
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has released infrared surveillance footage which has alerted people to the scale of the problem with the imported pests.
Tame Malcolm says while anyone can get a free permit from the Department of Conservation to shoot them on DoC land, they are also ranging across farmland or near tourism sports where shooting is not viable.
He says they will browse anything up to knee height.
“What we’ve found at Okataina near Lake Rotorua – as a result of wallabies being present we’ve lost 37 species in that browse height. You’ll find those species above 2 meters, above canopy height, but those plants started growing before the wallabies were introduced,” Mr Malcolm says.
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