Another wallaby shot in Maniototo

This wallaby was shot above Wedderburn by a deer hunter last Saturday. It is the fifth to be shot in the area in the past two years.

A fifth wallaby in two years was shot in the Maniototo by a deer hunter on Saturday.
Maniototo Pest Management (MPM) manager Ossie Brown said the wallaby was shot in the tussock country above Wedderburn by a deer hunter.

In addition to the five shot animals, there had been numerous sightings by deer and pig hunters.

When hunters advised him they had seen the elusive and secretive animals, he would investigate each one and in 90% of the cases had found scat and footprints to confirm the sighting.

''In the months before winter we were getting reports of wallabies every week,'' Mr Brown said.

He said he did not believe the wallabies in the Maniototo had been deliberately released but thought there was an existing breeding population in the region.

''They also come over the Hawkdun and Ida Ranges from the population on the south side of the Waitaki River.''

Wallabies are destructive to pasture, and two or three can eat as much grass as a sheep, which posed a threat to farming.

''It is an unseen problem,'' he said.

Mr Brown urged deer and pig hunters to report any shootings or sightings of the pest to MPM or to the Otago Regional Council (ORC).

''That was so important to do.''

However, while many hunters did report signs or sightings, some did not as they did not recognise just how serious a problem they could be, or thought they would be another game animal.

''They should go out of their way to shoot them.''

He said the Otago Regional Council had talked to hunting groups to get the message across as part of its work around wallabies.

He had also outlined his concerns to the Ministry of Conservation, and had positive responses.

''There needs to be a lot of money, a lot of input and new methods [to] address the problem,'' he said.

An ORC spokesman said the key message was wallabies had the potential to significantly impact on the Otago economy and local biodiversity values.

''They compete with livestock for pasture and damage crops and stop native bush regeneration and harm young trees.''

''The Otago Pest Plan requires land occupiers in Otago to destroy wallabies on their land and to notify us within two days of seeing wallabies or signs of wallabies.

''This is so we can investigate the wider area and implement control measures as required.''

https://www.orc.govt.nz/managing-our-environment/biodiversity-and-pest-c...

Southern Rural Life