A woman working on her Lockwood property says she was appalled to find a kangaroo shot dead 30 metres from her backdoor.
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Helan Reid was working at one end of her property Wednesday morning when she heard a shot ring out. She found the kangaroo, which had been killed instantly with a bullet to the head.
She believes someone must have illegally entered her land, since the property’s topography would have limited their ability to get a clear shot from outside the fence-line.
Regardless of whether the person had entered her land, Mrs Reid said she and her neighbours were concerned about the dangers of shooting in bushland so close to rural properties.
Adding heartbreak to frustration, the kangaroo was one Mrs Reid hand-raised after its mother was killed by a car.
“My wildlife shelter raises kangaroos and, under my license, they are released back into the wild,” she said.
“But I do keep food out for them so that I can see if they are all OK. All through the drought there was no food around so I was feeding them on my property.”
She compared the loss to that of a pet dog.
What’s more, it was an expensive loss.
“We people who have shelters feed the ’roos out of our own pockets.It can cost $800-$1000 for food, milk powder, heat pads and other equipment. I worked out that I had spent $10,000 in 18 months,” Mrs Reid said.
Bendigo police sergeant Robert Walsh said at this stage there was not enough evidence to say who shot the kangaroo, or why.
“Firearm safety is very important and we urge anyone with information on the shooting to contact Crime Stoppers,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said wildlife officers had not received an official complaint, but they would be looking into the incident.
She reminded people it was illegal to shoot kangaroos without the authority of the DELWP.
“(We issue that authority for) the control of kangaroos where they are demonstrated to be damaging pasture, crops or other property, impacting on biodiversity values or posing a risk to human health or safety,” she said.
She said wherever possible the DELWP encouraged landholders to manage wildlife problems with non-lethal methods like scaring, chasing, fencing and netting.