WARNING: Graphic content
WA’s southwest has been rocked by a spate of shocking attacks on kangaroos, with reports animals are being dismembered while still alive or left immobile and in agony with broken bones.
Animal welfare advocates said the “cruel, crude and deliberate acts” had unfolded in Bunbury, with the latest on July 15.
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“In one case, it appears a kangaroo had his legs cut off while he was still alive,” RSPCA WA’s South West inspector Genna Haines said.
“In another, a mother and joey had their legs broken and were left alive, unable to hop. They had to be humanely euthanised. A third incident involved decapitation.
“These are cruel, crude and deliberate acts that would have caused immense suffering, and I am urging anyone with information to come forward and report it.”
The attacks occurred across a range of locations in Bunbury, including around ECU and Manea Senior College, as well as bushland in Usher, College Grove and Carey Park.
Authorities are working on limited information, with many of the witness accounts coming during the darkness of nighttime and CCTV security vision in short supply.
“What we do know is these attacks appear to have been carried out by a small group of young men in utes or on mopeds or motorbikes,” Haines said.
“I suspect the perpetrators would have told someone something about these assaults, and I know they will have family members, friends or colleagues who will be appalled by the details of these cases.”
In January, authorities revealed they were investigating why five emus had been left to die by the side of the road of a national park in southwest WA.
Two juvenile animals were already dead when help arrived at the Hawke National Park in Yeagarup.
The remaining three chicks were in a terrible condition with broken bones and there was no option but to put them down.
It appeared they had been run down by a car and the incident left one wildlife volunteer carer emotionally scarred.
The maximum penalty for animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in jail.