Free-living or wild wombats are likely to suffer from a stress-related death if we tried to capture them. Transportation is difficult and wombats with mange are already severely compromised, so physically are not usually able to cope with this type of intervention.

The burrow-flapping method offers an alternative to euthanasia if the wombat does not have a secondary infection. The burrow flap method that uses Cydectin is a slow process, but this is currently the main method that has had some success in helping wombats recover from the infestation. At the very least, Wombat Rescue Tasmania is there trying to help wombats that would have otherwise died an agonising death ‘out of sight and out of mind’. In addition, wombats that do not have a secondary infection are given the chance to become healthy.

Every wombat we can save will be critical in the fight to save this species.