Distressing Video Shows Kangaroo Being Deliberately Mowed Down Under Tractor

Authorities in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria have launched an investigation after a video depicting a kangaroo being deliberately mowed down by a tractor started circulating online.

A spokesperson from the Victoria's Office of the Conservation told Abc.net.au that a probe was initiated after someone posted the video in a Facebook group for the Yarra Valley community on Tuesday.

The grim video footage obtained by the Australian publication Herald Sun showed the animal being brutally struck and killed by the machinery attached to the farm equipment while the driver, who appears to be filming the killing, yells "This big c***, he’s mine, he’s f****** mine."

Animal Justice Party MP of the Victorian Legislative Council, Andy Meddick, demanded immediate action against the man who pursued and ran over the hapless animal.

"As shocking as this cruelty is, we will continue to see animals treated in this way while their recreational slaughter is permitted. We need to see real protection for our native animals, and we need to see it now," Meddick was quoted by Yahoo News Australia, as saying.

"The Conservation Regulator takes all matters of animal cruelty seriously and is committed to investigating these allegations and will take strong action where offending has occurred," the spokesperson of the Victoria's Office of the Conservation Regulator told Abc.net.au.

Wildlife vet Natasha Bassett, who lives near the Chirnside Park area northeast of Melbourne, said she also received the video on her phone. Bassett said it might have been filmed in the Chirnside Park area where there has been a growing tension over the kangaroo population in nearby golf courses. However, there was no direct evidence that the video was shot in the area or if the person who shot it was involved in the act.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said she was deeply saddened to see the brutal slaughter of the kangaroo and that the current Wildlife Act is being reviewed to impose stricter measures against such attacks on animals. "The Conservation Regulator is investigating this report and I expect the regulator to take action against whoever is responsible if this act was found to be deliberate," D’Ambrosio was quoted in Yahoo News Australia, as saying. "We are reviewing the Wildlife Act to ensure it is fit for purpose and deals appropriately with people who senselessly attack our wildlife."