TASMANIAN farmers have raised widlife encroachment into farming areas as a food security issue.

The state’s peak farmer body TasFarmers said farmers were taking wildlife management seriously as new data released by Primary Industries and Water Minister Jane Howlett revealed that 1373 property protection permits to control wildlife were issued in the 2023-24 financial year.

TasFarmers president Ian Sauer said farmers support the government’s approach to addressing surging wildlife populations, including deer and wallabies, that are now encroaching into suburban areas.

“The highly regulated property protection permit process ensures transparency, with all activities meticulously recorded, monitored, and publicly accessible online, allowing anyone to review the published results.

“What many people don’t realise is that farmers and the broader community are bearing the $16 million cost of lost production due to animal predation,” he said.

“It’s frustrating when certain groups refuse to engage, won’t use scientific facts and participate with only emotion in the debate which will never deliver practical solutions.

“Farmers have always taken this issue seriously,” Mr Sauer said.

“They bear a significant financial and environmental responsibility, they continue working tirelessly to mitigate the problem through a range of techniques including scaring, netting, sound barriers, lights, and installing wallaby fencing—at four times the cost of regular fencing.

“Native bushland is being trashed and degraded through overgrazing by wildlife,” he said.

“Farmers continue losing income due to crop and pasture damage, plantation destruction, fence and infrastructure damage, and the spread of disease.

“To sustainably manage wildlife, we need access to the right tools, including sound suppressors, thermal imaging, and the relaxation of restrictions on culling browsing animals which was covered in the alternative to 1080 report,” Mr Sauer said.

“In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, political parties and special interest groups must recognise that this issue is about food security and protecting our native environment, to do nothing is not an option and irresponsible”

TasFarmers believes that property protection permits are essential for managing surging wildlife populations, that are causing environmental and economic damage to productive and conservation lands.

Crop protection permits provide the necessary tools to support sustainable food production, manage wildlife populations, and preserve Tasmania’s environment, TasFarmers said.