Save Our Wombats
Save Our Wombats
The issue
The ACT Government is considering options that could allow for the killing of local Bare-Nosed Wombats as a “land management” practice. We need your help to make sure this never becomes policy.
We love wombats. Their gentle nature and quirky personalities have touched thousands of people across Australia and around the world. Volunteers work day and night to rescue, rehabilitate and protect them. These animals deserve only love and safety.
But some ACT rural leaseholders have made it clear: they do not like sharing their land with wombats. They have publicly pushed for permission to “cull” wombats, claiming they are “overabundant.” In response, the Government has conducted a review into “Managing Wombats” - releasing a draft technical report that includes two deeply concerning recommendations:
- Declaring wombats a Controlled Native Species. This would open the door for leaseholders or the government to be able to easily obtain licences to shoot wombats, with little transparency or oversight.
- Allowing leaseholders to kill wombats that they believe are suffering from severe mange. In practice, this would simply create another pathway for leaseholders to kill healthy wombats that they do not like, and there would be no transparency or oversight to ensure otherwise.
Killing wombats on rural properties cannot be effectively monitored. It creates serious animal welfare risks. Rather than an instant death, wombats can be wounded, which leads to prolonged suffering. If a mother is shot, her dependent young can be left orphaned and slowly die from starvation. This is completely at odds with ACT’s legislated recognition of animal sentience and its commitment to preventing animal cruelty.
We are therefore calling on the ACT Government to rule out declaring wombats a Controlled Native Species, and to reject any policy that would allow leaseholders to kill them.
Please help protect ACT’s wombats. Add your voice today.
***Please note: After signing, there is a prompt for donations. Donations do not go to us - they go to the company Change.org.***
12,816
The issue
The ACT Government is considering options that could allow for the killing of local Bare-Nosed Wombats as a “land management” practice. We need your help to make sure this never becomes policy.
We love wombats. Their gentle nature and quirky personalities have touched thousands of people across Australia and around the world. Volunteers work day and night to rescue, rehabilitate and protect them. These animals deserve only love and safety.
But some ACT rural leaseholders have made it clear: they do not like sharing their land with wombats. They have publicly pushed for permission to “cull” wombats, claiming they are “overabundant.” In response, the Government has conducted a review into “Managing Wombats” - releasing a draft technical report that includes two deeply concerning recommendations:
- Declaring wombats a Controlled Native Species. This would open the door for leaseholders or the government to be able to easily obtain licences to shoot wombats, with little transparency or oversight.
- Allowing leaseholders to kill wombats that they believe are suffering from severe mange. In practice, this would simply create another pathway for leaseholders to kill healthy wombats that they do not like, and there would be no transparency or oversight to ensure otherwise.
Killing wombats on rural properties cannot be effectively monitored. It creates serious animal welfare risks. Rather than an instant death, wombats can be wounded, which leads to prolonged suffering. If a mother is shot, her dependent young can be left orphaned and slowly die from starvation. This is completely at odds with ACT’s legislated recognition of animal sentience and its commitment to preventing animal cruelty.
We are therefore calling on the ACT Government to rule out declaring wombats a Controlled Native Species, and to reject any policy that would allow leaseholders to kill them.
Please help protect ACT’s wombats. Add your voice today.
***Please note: After signing, there is a prompt for donations. Donations do not go to us - they go to the company Change.org.***
12,816
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 18 February 2026