Killing Spree: Utility Vehicle Runs Down Kangaroos; 20 Dead, Including Joeys

Around 20 kangaroos, including several joeys, were found dead by residents of Tura Beach in New South Wales over the weekend.

The horrific mass murder of these animals was reported by the New South Wales Police Force wherein they described it to be a cruel case of “animal cruelty.”

Their attention was called around 10:15 a.m. Sunday and responded to Dress Circle and Headland Drive after several kangaroo carcasses were discovered, some of which were on the lawns of residents.

Investigators believe that the animals may have been run over by a vehicle between 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Janine Green said in an interview that she was alerted by authorities about 1:00 a.m. Sunday about the dead kangaroos. It was only several hours later that the real horror unfolded.

“Until you see it you can't grasp the reality of it. People were just horrified,” said Green, who spoke with News 7.

The outlet added that the kangaroos were deliberately targeted and killed by a motorist, who drove a white utility vehicle “with mounted spotlights.”

“So the roos would have stood there stunned and then they just ran them down,” said Green, who has been a volunteer of the Wildlife Information and Rescue Education Service (WIRES) for more than 20 years.

“She said that she has never seen violence in all her years with the non-profit organization.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Green added. She is also keen to point that the vehicle who ran over the animals must have real damage considering the number of roos that it had killed.

Authorities have yet to confirm the make and model of the vehicle although investigations are already underway, said a NSW Police spokesperson.

The volunteer was able to gather three orphaned joeys amidst the slaughter, and has asked for the cooperation of residents to keep a keen eye for more survivors.

Independent UK pointed that kangaroos who were severely injured but were killed during the inhumane act were euthanized.

Green also expressed that it was “football night” when the incident happened, and that some people might have been under the influence of alcohol.

“It's lucky nobody was walking home, otherwise a person could have been hit.”

“The kangaroos are part of their community they've lived there forever. They're all used to the kangaroos hopping up and down the street, the same people slow down for them,” she said.

She also extended her dismay on the people who did the carnage and if they considered themselves “a hero” or at the least, happy to see helpless animals sprawled dead on the street.