By Renee Wood
Violent perpetrators have carried out a vicious attack on a mob of eastern grey Kangaroos in Healesville leaving one dead and one injured.
Wildlife volunteers were first called on Sunday 19 June alerted to one male who was spotted with an arrow sticking out of him and a few days later a female was found dead with an arrow lodged in her back.
Vets for Compassion volunteer Leonie Sorrentino responded to the calls and was shocked by the discovery.
“[The female] you’d have to get pretty close to be able to shoot her from the direction of where the arrow went into her back, into her spin,” Ms Sorrentino said.
Since the male was first spotted with the arrow lodged, volunteers have been tracking him to assist and three days after the first initial sighting the arrow was dislodged.
“We went out Wednesday and spotted him and the arrow was out and he was cleaning his wounds…but he’s still too mobile to get close to assess,” Ms Sorrentino said.
Ms Sorrentino believes it could have been removed by jumping over a fence and is hopeful the 100 kilogram mature male is healthy enough to heal the wound.
“The target arrow tip is not as long so he may have jumped the fence and knocked it out so he’s been licking it and rolling it in the dirt to heal it.”
The arrows used are believed to be target arrows rather than hunting arrows and were black with yellow and orange detail.
“They are a laid back mob, they don’t flee as soon as you walk in there so it would be easy for someone to use them as target,” she said.
The Ryans Road private property where the mob lives is currently being cared for by a caretaker who spotted the injured animal. The owners are away and all were unaware of the illegal activity happening on the large property.
The public is urged to be vigilant and report any illegal behaviour to the authorities.
“There are houses all around there, you would have thought humans would have evolved by now but no… Nothing surprises me anymore and it’s just the animals are the ones that suffer.”
The incident was reported to DEWLP and the Conservation Regulator is seeking information from the public
The Conservation Regulator is urging anyone with information to report it confidentially to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppersvic.com.au,
“In Victoria all wildlife is protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure or interfere with wildlife and severe penalties apply,” a spokesperson said.
“The maximum penalty for hunting, taking or destroying wildlife ranges from $8,261 to $41,305 and/or six to 24 months’ imprisonment.”
