Driver mowed down 20 kangaroos in Australia, police say
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Kangaroos in the Grampians, in the Australian state of Victoria. Australian police are investigating "acts of animal cruelty" after up to 20 kangaroos were run down and killed by a driver.
PHOTO: ST FILE
CANBERRA (DPA) - Australian police are investigating "acts of animal cruelty" after up to 20 kangaroos, including several joeys, were run down and killed by a driver.
The carcasses were found in the south-eastern coastal town of Merimbula on Sunday morning (Sept 29).
New South Wales Police said on Monday they believed the animals were run over by a single vehicle just before midnight on Saturday.
"Police are appealing for witnesses following several acts of animal cruelty on the state's far South Coast at the weekend," a police spokesperson said in a statement.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service are also investigating.
At least three joeys have been saved from their dead mother's pouch and are in care with volunteers, said the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (Wires).
Ms Janine Green, a volunteer with Wires who discovered the kangaroos, alleged the culprit drove a white ute (utility vehicle) and put on the high-beam light to intentionally run over the animals.
"They were driving around and around and had a spotlight. So the kangaroos were just startled and standing there," Ms Green told Guardian Australia.
"The people here actually love kangaroos. They are a part of the population. People in their houses were waking up with carcasses on their lawns. People just couldn't believe it."
