Wildlife rescuer pleads for Burnett drivers to slow down

A passionate wildlife warrior is pleading with drivers to take more care on the roads after finding 14 critically injured or dead joeys in two weeks.

A passionate South Burnett wildlife warrior is pleading with the region to take more care on the roads after discovering more than fourteen critically injured or deceased joey's over the past fortnight.

A South Burnett wildlife warrior who has spent nearly 40 years advocating for Queensland’s wildlife is pleading with drivers to slow down.

Marjie Spies, 58, has been an emergency contact for drivers who injure wildlife on South Burnett roads since the late 1990s.

Her late husband John Spies was a well known wildlife painter who would often paint the animals the couple rescued and cared for.

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Mrs Spies has recorded 14 incidents over past two weeks near her home in Taromeo where redneck wallabies, swamp wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos and a northern brown bandicoot have been killed by drivers.

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John Spies was well known for his paintings of the animals he and his wife rescued and cared for.

From those 14 incidents, six joeys were hiding in the pouches of their dead mothers.

“I have cried many tears at this carnage,” Mrs Spies said.

“The death tolls are higher in winter as there’s less green grass around so the roos move to the side of the road where the grass is greener as water rolls from the bitumen,” she said.

Earlier this week, Mrs Spies attended the scene of a joey who had been launched from its mother's pouch to the other side of the road when the car hit.

“The beautiful little female swamp wallaby joey is very lucky to have survived her mum being killed by someone in a car,” Mrs Spies said.

“She was uninjured, which is very rare and is also extremely lucky to have been noticed by another caring motorist who rescued her and kept her warm overnight,” she said.

Mrs Spies said she was happy to be a driver’s first port of call if they injured a kangaroo.

Marjie Spies began her wildlife caring nearly four decades ago.

“If you’ve been unable to avoid hitting a kangaroo or wallaby, please do not leave it lying there as there may be a joey in the pouch,” Mrs Spies said.

“It may be still alive but injured and need attention or euthanizing.

“We must be losing hundreds of animals every day because too many people are speeding and not giving a damn,” she said.

Mrs Spies encouraged drivers to use their horns while driving at dusk, dawn and night-time.

“Beeping a car horn is a simple thing we can do and would stop a lot of carnage, headlights confuse the kangaroos whereas a beep will cause them to run back into the wild, the majority of the time,” Mrs Spies said.

South Burnett Regional Council has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Wildlife rescuer pleads for Burnett drivers to slow down