The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat was hunted for its meat. People are the wombat's worst enemy. People have killed them by poisoning or shooting. Poisons are added to grains, such as oats and wheat. The main reason for the decrease of the wombat's population and endangerment is caused by overgrazing cattle and sheep, and by urban sprawl.
Land clearing affects the wombat and also has affected many of our other native animals.
In the mountains and hills that comprise most of the wombat's habitat, clearing for grazing creeps higher up the slopes of the mountains or hills. Wombats have to put up with other hazards, such as road deaths, but they are not deliberately caused by man. Large numbers of wombats are killed on the road or highway. The farmers still set traps to catch them, poison their burrows, and shoot them down. But rarely are they caught.