Twenty kangaroos killed in Australian ‘hit-and-run spree’
- Police looking for witnesses to late-night ‘acts of animal cruelty’ in coastal suburb of Tura Beach
- Vehicle believed to have ploughed into kangaroos as it drove down residential streets
Residents of a coastal Australian suburb awoke Sunday to a shocking sight: the bodies of as many as 20 kangaroos killed in what police believe to be a deliberate hit-and-run.
Janine Green, a long-time volunteer with the wildlife rescue group Wires, told 7News Australia that police knocked on her door around 1am, holding a tiny kangaroo that had been taken from its dead mother’s pouch.
The joey was one of the few survivors of the late-night slaughter in Tura Beach, a small community in the southern part of New South Wales.
“Until you see it you can’t grasp the reality of it,” said Green, who is now caring for three survivors. “People were just horrified, and when we took the bodies away, seeing them on the back of the [utility vehicle] was heartbreaking.”
Police said in a statement that they are looking for witnesses to the “several acts of animal cruelty,” which they believe unfolded between 10.30 and 11.30pm on Saturday.