A 19-year-old man has been arrested by police in Australia and charged with torture, beating and cause death of animal after 20 kangaroos were found dead in a hit and run.
Police asked for witnesses in the case on the state’s far South Coast over the weekend.
Chief Inspector Peter Volf, the officer in charge in Bega Valley, said acts of animal cruelty would not be tolerated.
“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,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
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
It was around 10:15 am Sunday when police were called and found the animals dead along around Dress Circle and Headland Drive, Tura Beach.
“Police believe that up to 20 kangaroos may have been run over by a vehicle between 10.30pm and 11.30pm on Saturday (28 September 2019),” police said in a news release Monday.
The images in local media reports are disturbing. They show carnage along the roadside, and some of the animals were so badly injured, they could not be saved.
But there was survivor of the massacre.
“Meet ‘Nullah’ the tiny surviving joey from the incident at Tura Beach over the weekend,” WIRES, a local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility, said in a Facebook post.
The joey was delivered by police to WIRES worker Janine Green in the middle of the night.
“WIRES is horrified to hear about the incident that took place in Tura Beach early on Sunday morning,” the group added.
A total of three joeys, five juveniles and 12 adults died in the carnage, according to 10 daily.
“There was one injured kangaroo that was not killed on impact; so they had to euthanise her. She had the joey in her pouch,” Green told news outlet.
WIRES said rehab is “extremely challenging” in the best circumstances for everyone involved and is particularly difficult when animals have been injured in an apparent act of cruelty.
And, it thanked local police for their work.
WIRES also reminded people if they find an injured or orphaned to call 1300 094 737, or if they see acts of animal cruelty, to contact the RSPCA NSW on 1300 CRUELTY.
The man has not yet been identified in this case, but he has been granted conditional bail and is set to return to court Nov. 26, according to police.
Photo WIRES/Facebook
