Australian authorities said Thursday they are investigating the illegal killing of at least 65 kangaroos found shot or apparently rammed by a vehicle.
A local wildlife shelter alerted Victorian wildlife officials after finding the eastern grey kangaroos in rural paddocks about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Melbourne, officials said.
“At least three of the kangaroos were found alive but were subsequently euthanised due to the severity of their injuries,” said the state’s Conservation Regulator.
“Two kangaroo joeys were recovered and are being cared for at a wildlife shelter,” it said in a statement.
The marsupials had suffered fatal gunshot wounds and “traumatic injuries consistent with being rammed by a vehicle”, the regulator said.
Used shotgun cartridges were found in the area.
Though kangaroos are protected in Australia, the most common species are not endangered.
This means they can be shot and killed in most jurisdictions, but government permission is needed.
Kangaroos, whose numbers fluctuate between 30 million and 60 million nationally, are frequently culled to keep the population in check.
The animals have a “boom and bust” population cycle — when fodder is plentiful on the back of a good wet season, their numbers can balloon by tens of millions.
Each year, as many as five million kangaroos are also shot as part of a homegrown industry that harvests their carcasses for meat, pet food and leather.
It is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure or interfere with wildlife in Victoria.
However it is legal for authorised harvesters to shoot grey kangaroos on farms — where kangaroos often compete with livestock for pasture and damage fences — under the state’s kangaroo harvesting program.
Ms Begg echoed Wildlife Victoria’s calls for an end to kangaroo harvesting.
“We’re calling for any existing permits to be revoked for the region and to prevent any future permits from being issued,” she said.
The offences are believed to have occurred between 5pm on June 21 and 4pm the following day.
Authorised officers have spoken with a landowner, who is not considered a person of interest.
The Conservation Regular says each offence carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison or a fine of almost $10,000.
Further penalties of up to two years in prison or a fine of close $100,000 can also apply under the state’s animal cruelty laws.
The Conservation Regulator is also investigating 19 eastern grey kangaroos found dead after being allegedly shot and mowed down at Pine Lake near Horsham on June 23.
