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Over a dozen peaceful kangaroos were murdered after an Australian teen ran them over with his truck.
According to police reports, the 19-year-old was put under arrest and charged with animal cruelty three weeks ago following the weekend attack in Bega Valley, New South Wales.
Around twenty dead kangaroos were found on the roads of Turina Beach. It is believed the gruesome attack happened between 10:30 and 11:30 pm.
As a result of the vicious killing spree, three babby kangaroos were left without families, wildlife rescue group WIRES said.
A man has been charged after up to 20 kangaroos died after allegedly being hit by a ute on the state’s South Coast at the weekend. https://t.co/3o3kzYkppH
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) October 1, 2019
Chief Inspector Peter Volf said the police do not tolerate animal cruelty.
“We take incidents such as these very seriously and anyone who engages in activities such as these will face the full brunt of the law,” Volf told ABC.
“These are animals that are relatively used to humans and obviously they’re in residential areas and used to cars and would have no suspicion that something untoward was about to occur,” he added.
Local Rob Evans called the event “a very unpleasant sight.”
“Police see an awful lot of things, but you could see that they were shocked as well,” Evans said, adding that when he went outside in the morning, there were four or five dead kangaroos with visibly broken bones.
“They’d been hit hard,” he told ABC.
The Australian community was understandably shaken at the sight. Animal rights activist Janine Green talked about what some people saw on the night of the attack.
“It was just pure, senseless slaughter. There’s no reason for it,” she told ABC.
“Apparently, it was a white [utility vehicle] with some idiots in it and they were putting spotlights on the kangaroos and just running them over.”
The Australian Wildlife Rescue Organization welcomed one of the surviving kangaroos, Nullah to their care.
“WIRES carer Janine had police knocking on her door,” their statement reads. “The police were holding a precious joey kangaroo, since named Nullah.”
It goes on:
“Barely 6 months old, Nullah had just become an orphan after his mother was one of many kangaroos struck by a vehicle late on Saturday night in Tura Beach.”
“There was at least one adult kangaroo which had been left in such a severe condition she had to be euthanized. Her joey and one other surviving orphan that were found are now both in care with Janine along with Nullah.”
The kangaroo killer is reportedly out on bail and is set to appear before Bega Local Court on November 26.
What are your thoughts on this senseless act of cruelty? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments.
