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The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program

The Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease or DFTD is a new and unusual condition that is spreading through Tasmania's wild Tasmanian devil populations. To investigate the disease and identify management options, the Australian and Tasmanian Governments, together with the University of Tasmania, have become partners in an initiative known as the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

Tasmanian Devil

The core of the program is co-ordinated by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW). It focuses on on-ground management activity as well as some important applied research. But the department also facilitates and supports research and contributions by other organisations, including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the University of Tasmania, University of Queensland, University of Sydney, Murdoch University, Landcare Research (in New Zealand), and wildlife parks and zoos.

See Save the Tasmanian Devil Program information on the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water website.

What do we want to achieve?

The Tasmanian devil again thriving in the wild is the vision of all who work in the program. Our strategy encompasses a range of approaches to provide the species with the best chance of survival.

As at July 2007, our top priority is an insurance population. We want to ensure that sufficient healthy and genetically robust devils are available for re-introduction to the wild for the next 50 years.

Our other higher priorities are:

  • Suppression of the disease in the wild, to actively protect wild Tasmanian devils from the disease.
  • Delivery of an effective vaccine against the tumour, as a tool to assist in protecting wild and captive devils.
  • An anti-cancer treatment for infected Tasmanian devils, to help in the recovery of infected devils.
  • A selectively-bred population with increased heredity resistance, to increase the long-term protection of Tasmanian devils from the disease.
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Program focus

There are four key areas of focus for the program.

  • Population monitoring - Gathering data in the field to clarify disease distribution and impacts, and to help determine conservation strategies.
  • Disease diagnostics - A laboratory-based investigation of the disease itself, which includes defining the disease, exploring its transmission, the possible causes, and so on.
  • Wild management - Establishing methods for managing the impact of the disease in the wild. This includes continuing attempts on the Forestier-Tasman Peninsula, in southern Tasmania, to create a disease-free region.
  • Captive management - A captive breeding population with 'founders' taken from areas of the State where there hasn't been any record of the disease.

View a movie on the Tasmanian devil and the race to prevent its extinction.

Tasmanian Devil Find Out How

This website is a joint initiative of the Tasmanian Government (the Department of Primary Industries and Water, and the Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment) and the University of Tasmania.

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Contact details

For more information about the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, please contact:

The Tasmanian Devil Appeal, launched in late 2003, assists with vital research into the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease. It is administered under the auspices of the University of Tasmania Foundation, which nominates and allocates a number of scholarships and grants biannually through the Tasmanian Wildlife Research Advisory Committee (TWRAC). All appeal funds raised support key research areas approved by the Devil Facial Tumour Disease Steering Committee. Donations to the Tasmanian Devil Appeal over $2 dollars are tax deductible in Australia. For more information about the Tasmanian Devil Appeal, please contact:

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