Tourists and residents horrified as kangaroos decapitated and disembowelled at holiday hotspot

Decapitated, disembowelled and left to rot. Kangaroo carnage at a Victorian holiday hotspot has horrified residents, visitors and tourism operators. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Up to 40 kangaroos were shot and remains left near homes in Dunkeld.

Tourism operators and residents in the holiday town of Dunkeld were horrified when dozens of kangaroos were shot in the dead of night, then decapitated, disembowelled and left to rot in fields close to homes.

As many as 40 roos were shot on paddocks as part of the state’s new program to kill the native marsupials for pet food.

The animals’ heads, tails, paws and entrails were left behind, alarming visitors and residents of the popular tourist hotspot at the southern edge of the Grampians National Park.

The mobs are one of the attractions of the area, with many cottages and retreats highlighting the opportunity to meet the roos.

Remains of a roo left in the shadow of Mt Abrupt near Dunkeld.

Up to 40 roos were killed and butchered near Dunkeld.

Most images of the butchered remains are so graphic they cannot be published.

Joeys which survived the killing spree later died without the sustenance of their mothers.

The state government began a program in October allowing shooters to attain permits to kill roos, taking their carcasses to an abattoir in Hamilton.

It came after a four-year pet food trial which aimed to reduce roo numbers in farming areas and make use of their carcasses.

Farming groups including the Victorian Farmers’ Federation say roo numbers need to be controlled because the animals cause damage to fences, eat fodder and crops, and are a danger on country roads.

The roo remains were left to rot for weeks.

Several abandoned joeys didn’t survive.

One Dunkeld resident, who did not wished to be identified, said the shootings occurred over two nights on November 21 and December 3. Many were not shot in the head, in breach of the code of practice.

“When I first came across the shocking scene of kangaroo parts strewn across the landscape, my first thought was that there was a psychopath on the loose, and we ought to be very careful.

“The instinct to warn people of the danger kicked in. My second thought was to start looking for Ears For Days and Fringe Lily, two male kangaroos that have been visiting my garden for many years.’’

The resident described the shooting program as government-sanctioned cruelty.

“The mass killing of kangaroos is not about agriculture or farming. It is nothing other than violence against wildlife to supply the pet food industry.’’

Attempts to seek help from the Game Authority, police and Agriculture Department all failed.

The resident said the high-powered rifles represented a serious risk to people in and around the town.

“It’s just so dangerous. There’s a school camp some 200 to 300 metres away,’’ she said.

“You can live with kangaroos. We do. They eat the grass, they’re friendly and they’re no problem.’’

Australian Society for Kangaroos spokeswoman Nikki Sutterby said shooters would get about $10 for the meat and $10 for the skin.

“It’s now totally profit driven. It’s so cruel. It’s unsupervised and impossible to regulate,’’ Ms Sutterby said

A spokesman for the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, which covers agriculture, said compliance officers were sent to investigate on Thursday.

“Whether these remains are a consequence of illegal or an authorised activity, to either cull or harvest kangaroos, is still to be determined,’’ the spokesman said.

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The department said that authorised shooters are subject to “rigorous conditions and licencing requirements’’ and that anyone acting outside those conditions can have their authorisation revoked and face penalties.

Harry Wakeling, who runs Aquila Eco Lodges and also is a wildlife foster carer, described the carnage as “grossly ridiculous”.

International tourists come to the area for the native animals, peaces and scenery, he said.

“You can never overstate how important it is for them to see wildlife.

“I can see four eastern greys from my window now, one of them we hand-raised.’’

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@IanRoyall