For over a century they were trapped and poisoned and became very rare. They seemed, like the Tasmanian tiger, to be headed for extinction. Despite this the Tasmanian devil was not protected by law until June 1941. This story has a happy ending, however, because the population then gradually increased until today the Tasmanian devil is abundant and apparently safe. Fittingly, the Tasmanian devil was chosen as the symbol of the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service.
People sometimes say that devils are in 'plague proportions'.
All they are really saying is that there are more than they would prefer to see. Both devil and quoll populations naturally swell dramatically each summer when young disperse into the wild. The increase is a seasonal fluctuation, not a plague. Tasmanian devils are wholly protected.