Roo slaughtered in shocking tractor chase

This is the horror moment a kangaroo was mown down with a tractor in a “sociopathic and sadistic” slaughter, which was captured in an expletive-ridden video.

Shocking footage has emerged of a man on a tractor appearing to deliberately mow down a kangaroo.

The footage, which surfaced online, captured the moment the roo was chased down and killed by a harrow off the side of a tractor.

The driver filming the incident can be heard screaming: “This big c***, he’s mine, he’s f*****g mine”.

The distressing content was posted in the Facebook group Yarra Valley Noticeboard and is understood to have occurred locally.

Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick on Wednesday called on Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to ensure the man is “made an example of”.

“He needs the book thrown at him,” Mr Meddick said.

“As shocking as this cruelty is, we will continue to see animals treated in this way while their recreational slaughter is permitted.

“We need to see real protection for our native animals, and we need to see it now.

“The Victorian Government has created a culture of disrespect to native animals by allowing their slaughter for fun and under so-called harvesting programs.

“Until that changes, I don’t have confidence we will see meaningful change when it comes to respect for wildlife.”

Mr Meddick said “extreme acts of cruelty” were on the rise, with the spike prompting a review into penalties under the Wildlife Act 1975.

But Mr Meddick said more needed to be done.

“In recent times in Victoria, we’ve seen the poisoning of wedge-tailed eagles, emus run down by a car, and koalas massacred on farmland,” he said.

Wildlife veterinarian Tash Bassett said the footage, which sent a scare throughout the Yarra Valley community, made her “physically sick”.

She said the animal involved would have been subjected to an “excruciating” death.

“He’s basically been ribboned into pieces and I don’t think he would’ve died straight away. It was extremely brutal and it would’ve been excruciatingly painful,” she said.

“I couldn’t believe what I was watching. It’s sociopathic and sadistic and it’s an example of violence towards our national animal.”

Ms Bassett said the incident was a “test case” for authorities to investigate and bring the perpetrator to justice.

“If the appropriate pressure is put on by the authorities, I’m confident we’ll find the person who did it,” she said.

“If this was happening to a companion animal, we’d all be calling for justice. Kangaroos are social, intelligent and sentient beings. Let’s hope the authorities show us that all animals matter.”

A Conservation Regulator spokeswoman confirmed they had received reports of a kangaroo being struck and killed by a tractor.

“The Conservation Regulator takes all matters of animal cruelty seriously and is committed to investigating these allegations and will take strong action where offending has occurred,” she said.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said she was “deeply concerned” by the report.

“I expect the regulator to take action against whoever is responsible if this act was found to be deliberate,” she said.

Anyone with information about the incident or other wildlife crime is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Roo slaughtered in shocking tractor chase