Devil Facial Tumour Disease


The Hon Bryan Green MHA
Minister for Primary Industry, Water and the Environment
Parliament House
Hobart TAS 700011

March 2004

Dear Minister

Re: Devil Facial Tumour Disease

The Council of the Australian Mammal Society has asked that I write to support the Tasmanian Government’s response to the emergence and spread of Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

While Council is alarmed by the rapid spread of the disease across much of Tasmania, we are encouraged by the science-based approach adopted by the Nature Conservation Branch. We acknowledge that the budget of $1.8 million that has been set aside to mount a response to this outbreak is an appropriate funding level for preliminary investigations and monitoring. Your strategy of working to identify the causal agent, monitoring the spread of the disease and its impact at the population level, and investigating options for the establishment of ‘safe’ populations seems appropriate at this stage of the epizootic.

However, Council is concerned that the decline of devil populations may facilitate the spread of the recently-introduced Red Fox through Tasmanian ecosystems ­ it seems plausible that competition for food and perhaps direct predation by devils on fox cubs may help limit fox populations and distribution. Therefore, the Australian Mammal Society requests that the Tasmanian Government place greater emphasis on control of the spread of foxes in areas where Devil Facial Tumour Disease has resulted in significant declines in population densities of Tasmanian Devils.

The membership of the Australian Mammal Society encompasses a great range of expertise in mammal biology. Council feels that this expertise may be a valuable asset for planning further responses to this disease and wishes to offer the assistance of its members should you feel at any stage that their advice would be valuable.

Yours sincerely,


Peter Menkhorst
Conservation Officer