Police in Australia are investigating the shocking deaths of at least 84 kangaroos that were shot or hit head-on by vehicles in two nearby areas in the state of Victoria.
In June, Crime Stoppers Victoria asked for the public’s help to identify the person or persons who left the kangaroos with “fatal gunshot wounds and other traumatic injuries consistent with being rammed by a vehicle.”
In the region of Gobarup, authorities discovered at least 65 dead grey kangaroos with gunshot wounds and other injuries on June 22. The next day, officers from the state’s Conservation Regulator found 19 more dead grey kangaroos with similar traumas at Pine Lake, near Horsham.
The slain kangaroos included adults and juvenile marsupials.
At each location, authorities found used shotgun cartridges.
The Conservation Regulator began investigating the killings after the operator of a local wildlife shelter discovered “dozens” of dead kangaroos left in private paddocks, or small enclosures, in Gobarup.
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The wildlife carer, who is not a suspect, said she had to euthanize three kangaroos that were still alive at the scene because their injuries were too severe.
Two joeys, or baby kangaroos, were saved and brought to an animal shelter for care.
The wildlife rescuer, identified by the Australian Broadcast Company as Tania Begg, told the outlet the killings were “shocking” and “pretty horrific.”
“We found 15 to 20 in one spot,” she recalled. “The more we looked, they were everywhere.”
Alongside the two joeys, she was able to save one adult female kangaroo, though the animal had “several shotgun pellets embedded in her body.”
“It was a massive number of kangaroos,” Begg said of the carnage. “This is the worst thing I’ve seen.”
Authorities believe the kangaroo killings at both locations occurred between June 21 and June 23.
It is illegal to kill kangaroos, or any wildlife, in Victoria.
Under the Wildlife Act 1975, it is against the law to disturb or destroy wildlife without an appropriate authorization, license or exemption. Each offence carries a maximum penalty or six months in prison and a potential fine of about AUS$9,870 (nearly C$9,130).
Crime Stoppers Victoria said the perpetrator or perpetrators could also face additional penalties under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, with a maximum sentence of two years in prison and an AUS$98,795 (about C$91,360) fine.
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