A Woori Yallock resident’s disturbing discovery of plastic bags stuffed with kangaroo and deer remains has shocked authorities.
Tracey Frazer was walking along Haggards Lane in Woori Yallock on 18 July when she came across the shocking sight of kangaroo and deer legs sprawled across the ground and in plastic bags.
She said she’d never seen anything like it before.
“I’m 52 now and I’ve seen a lot of stuff, but never seen that. I built this house here when I was 18, so I’ve lived here a long time,” she said.
Immediately she called Wildlife Victoria and the phone operator also expressed dismay at the discovery.
“It’s right behind where our primary school is. I know it was school holidays, but all the kids were coming here, riding bikes on the trail. So I didn’t want a child to see it.”
She alerted Yarra Ranges Council staff working nearby who then called on workers to dispose of the remains.
“A community member contacted Council on 18 July, with a distressing report after finding animal remains dumped on public property,” a council spokesperson said.
“Our teams were able to attend and dispose of the remains in the early afternoon. The community member was contacted to let them know that the remains had been removed.”
Dumping animal remains on public property is illegal and is also extremely distressing for community members.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1300 333 000.
Victorian Kangaroo Alliance president Alyssa Wormald was shocked at the news and said it was horrifying to know that someone in the community could be responsible for it.
“Kangaroos are such gentle, family-oriented beings, and it’s horrifying to know that people in our community are treating them with such abhorrent cruelty.”
Ms Wormald said while it wasn’t uncommon for people to find butchered remains in a field after a commercial shoot, it was “baffling” that it was found in a public area.
“I suspect it was a result of illegal shooting as presumably if they had permits and permission to shoot from the landholder they would have disposed of remains on the property where the animals were killed.”
The Conservation Regulator received the report and is investigating the issue.
“All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975. It is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with wildlife without authorisation,” a conservation regulator spokesperson said.
Kangaroos are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it’s illegal to harm them except when approved by an Authority to Control Wildlife, or as part of the Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP).
The Victorian Government’s KHP enables the authorisation of commercial kangaroo harvesting in Victoria in order to manage population numbers and provide economic benefits.
Only professional harvesters are allowed to manage kangaroo populations and they must process carcasses and not leave them on properties.
The Yarra Ranges is included within the program, despite the council having requested to be exempt from the program.
Ms Wormald was concerned that programs such as the KHP could possibly be contributing towards entrenched attitudes of disregard toward kangaroos.
This entrenched attitude is reflected in the disturbing actions of individuals who view kangaroos merely as target practice.
The Game Management Authority also states on its website that all deer carcasses must be disposed of thoughtfully and should never be left at a campsite, in or near a waterway, on, or near, a track, road or someone’s dwelling.
