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More than 100 Tasmanian devils killed on a 25km stretch of road in state's north-west

A dead Tasmanian devil on Woolnorth Road in northern Tasmania.  (Supplied)

Alice Carson has documented 114 dead Tasmanian devils on a 25-kilometre stretch of road in the state's far north-west since January last year. 

The local resident and wildlife carer said she feels "completely helpless".

"They are an amazing animal. As Tasmanians, if we can't protect the devil, it doesn't bode well for any other species," she said.

"It's bloody heartbreaking."

WARNING: This story contains images which may cause distress

Photographs taken by Ms Carson show the dead devils in graphic detail along Woolnorth Road, which is frequently used by trucks servicing the Van Dairy farms and Woolnorth wind farm.

She said hooning appeared to be a "massive contributor" to the devil deaths.

"People aren't doing the speed limit when it's 100 kilometres an hour. You've got people driving like maniacs out there," she said.

Earlier this year, hoons were blamed after a number of road markers that housed newly installed early warning sensors to reduce devil road deaths were flattened.

The area's Tasmanian devils are some of the last in the state that have not been affected by the devil facial tumour disease that has decimated other populations.

Wildlife advocates plead with drivers to slow down between dawn and dusk. (Supplied)

However, Ms Carson said she recently was called out to a devil severely impacted by disease, highlighting it was "not far away".

"Her whole bottom jaw was completely disintegrated. She had no teeth left and was starving to death," she said.

"She was a walking skeleton. It's a horrible thing to see an animal like that."

Tasmanian devil roadkill mitigation signs near Arthur River in Tasmania's far north-west.  (ABC News: Monte Bovill)

Last year, the Greens pleaded for federal government intervention following the number of devil road deaths.

Since then, Ms Carson said action to stop roadkill had been almost non-existent, while the number of devils dying continued to climb.

"It breaks my heart. I just can't understand the apathy around this issue," she said.

Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said it "beggars belief" no federal funds have been provided to assist the devil's threatened species recovery plan for the last eight years.

"This news is devastating. Now is clearly not the time for the federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, to wipe her hands of responsibility for the Tassie devil," he said.

"Out of pure frustration with lack of progress on speed limits or appropriate signage, I've written to dairy company Fonterra, Van Dairy and others major commercial users of this road, seeking voluntary commitments to observe lower speed limits from dusk to dawn, but only Van Dairy responded, which is disappointing."

More than 100 devils lost from small population

Bill Walker, natural resource management officer for Circular Head Council, described the area as the "perfect storm" when it comes to devils becoming roadkill.

"We have trucks that travel at night and a lot of devils on the move," he said.

It is estimated there are around 500 healthy devils in the Woolnorth population, but Mr Walker said losing 100 in a year on the road was a "real concern".

"We need to act now. If we lose devils in our generation, then we've failed."

Bill Walker said the area was a "perfect storm" for devil deaths. (ABC News: Monte Bovill)

Mr Walker said education around how humans interact with the environment was part of the solution.

"This is about managing people. If we can get people to understand why we need to do these things, then we can change human behaviour," he said.

"We need people to understand we have made some terrible decisions in the last 150 years."

Devil roadkills spike in summer 

The local council recently voted to lobby the state government for funding and support, with proposals to reduce the speed limit on Woolnorth Road and extend virtual fencing coverage.

A small dead Tasmanian devil on a road in northern Tasmania.  (Supplied)

A spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said the devil population in Woolworth was "stable" as of mid-2021 but added, "all devil roadkill is of concern".

"The data shows an annual spike in roadkill devils is recorded during the summer months across the state and is thought to be associated with increased numbers of juvenile devils in the population at this time of year," the spokesperson said.

The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, funded by the department, has met with local stakeholders to discuss the ongoing issues at Woolnorth.

"The primary focus of actions arising from the stakeholder discussions was strategies to increase driver awareness and to reduce speed in the Woolnorth area," the spokesperson said.

While the facial tumour disease resulted in the devil being listed as endangered, the department said the species was able to persist in the wild with the disease, but due to a decline in numbers, made the population more susceptible to other threats like roadkill.

A spokesperson for the federal environment department said the government had invested $13.3 million between 2008 and 2014 in the recovery of the Tasmanian devil, including action to prevent devil roadkill.

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