Wildlife Health in Tasmania - Disease Information

​​​​The Wildlife Health Manual

​The Wildlife Health Manual is for wildlife health managers. It is also useful for the general public in identifying wildlife health issues and how to respond.

Wildlife Health Manual (965 KB)

The importance of passive surveillance

​​​​Wildlife diseases of significance are increasing in number in Tasmania. Some have the potential to significantly impact biodiversity. It has the potential to have a disastrous impact on populations already threatened.

  • Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) occurs in more than half of the state. It is causing drastic declines in devil populations. 
  • Frog Chytridiomycosis (a fungal disease causing skin changes, sickness and death in frogs) has been identified in Tasmania. It has the potential to cause extinctions among frog species.
  • Platypus Mucormycosis has been found in the north and east of Tasmania. The Department is half way through a Tasmania-wide Mucormycosis monitoring project. It is learning much more about the disease.
  • ​Disease incursions have been described in threatened species such as the Orange Bellied Parrot. ​

Effective reporting of wildlife health events from 'front line' individuals working with or observing wildlife is of critical importance. It forms the basis of an early warning system for new disease outbreaks and helps us monitor existing diseases as well.

What to look for

Any sign of sickness/infectious disease such as:

  • sudden or mass deaths
  • skin lesions if non-traumatic
  • vomiting or diarrhoea
  • lameness if non-traumatic
  • neurological changes (moving in circles, staggering, falling, convulsing etc)
  • ill thrift (looks sick, lethargic, reluctant too move etc)

Injured or orphaned wildlife

Reporting sick or dead wildlife

​Report:

  • sick or dead wildlife. Contact Wildlife Services on (03) 6165 4305 or email Wildlife.Services@nre.tas.gov.au​ ​​​
  • ​​any suspicion of a notifiable disease e.g. avian influenza, ring the Emergency Disease Hotline 1800 675 888 (24 hours)
  • ​​any seal, dolphin or whale ashore, ring the Whale Hotline, 0427 WHALES (0427 942 537)

​Usefu​​l Publications

  Biosecurity and Disease Management Protocols for Captive and Wild Orange-bellied Parrots in Tasmania   (952Kb)

Tasmanian Chytrid Management Plan (1.64 MB)

Strategy for Managing Wildlife Disease in the TWWHA (1.05 MB)