'We need to stand up': Wildlife group saving Coast kangaroos

A SUNSHINE Coast wildlife group is calling on the community and governments to save the region's kangaroos following a huge spike in deaths.

The Sunshine Coast has seen a spike in kangaroo and wallaby deaths due to increased developments.

WARNING: Graphic images.

A SUNSHINE Coast wildlife group is calling on the community and governments to save the region's kangaroos following a spike in deaths rescuers say is due to rapid development.

Wildlife Rescue Sunshine Coast (WRSC) created a petition to convince local and state governments to implement wildlife protection policies around highly-populated areas.

"The Sunshine Coast is experiencing a huge spike in extensive development," WRSC president Claire Smith said.

"This disruption, this massive spike in development is wiping out our local kangaroo population."

Ms Smith said the average call-out to kangaroos hit by cars were previously one to two a month, but there had recently been a spike in road deaths.

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"This year we've had a growth that has been unprecedented," she said.

"In June we attended 34 kangaroos and wallabies. July is going to be pretty much the same."

She said these statistics were "absolutely unheard of".

"In one month alone, we did more than we did in the previous two years combined," she said.

She said kangaroos and wallabies were at risk anywhere there was disruption to road systems.

"We're losing whole populations of kangaroos because they're just getting hit by cars."

It's not only getting hit by cars that kangaroos have to worry about - Ms Smith said she recently attended to a call-out at the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion site where two wallabies had to be euthanised after being trapped in muddy earthworks for days.

She said she and other volunteers were encouraged by the community's growing concern about keeping kangaroos safe.

"There is a large proportion of people that are extremely worried about the massive growth in population that the State Government wants.

"We want to ensure that there is something put in place to mitigate the management of this species so that we're not seeing them wiped out here on the Coast."

Ms Smith said WRSC wanted protection policies like land bridges and exclusion fencing, which stop the animals from accessing main roads and highways, to be introduced.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said council officers met with WRSC to discuss the issues and have agreed to continue to work with wildlife rescue groups and researchers to identify problem areas and potential solutions.

In the meantime, the spokesperson said council was expanding and connecting priority habitat areas through its Environment Levy land acquisition program, which has secured 3434 hectares. Council also supports five local wildlife care groups, the spokesperson said.

She said if proper management of the animals was not introduced, "it could cause a fatality on the Sunshine Coast".

Ms Smith said managing the spike in kangaroo deaths in the region had a huge financial and emotional cost, and was extremely distressing to those on the frontline.

"Usually when people hit a kangaroo, the damage to the animal is so horrific ... you've got bones, you've got tendons, you've got blood," she said.

"It's horrific really, no one sets out to kill a kangaroo.

"We just want people to keep that awareness up. We need to stand up for our community.

"If you want to live in a really beautiful part of the world then stand up and try to save everything that's good about it."

To learn more about the petition visit www.change.org/p/sunshine-coast-regional-council-council-state-government-urban-footprint-is-wiping-out-sunshine-coast-kangaroos or WRSC Facebook page.

Wildlife Rescue Sunshine Coast president Claire Smith said managing the region's kangaroo deaths was "extremely distressing" to volunteers.