Wildlife Victoria has singled out Whittlesea council for being ill-equipped to deal with injured wildlife after a kangaroo was left suffering for hours before being euthanised last week.
Wildlife Victoria received a call just before noon last Thursday from a Whittlesea council staff member who was spraying weedkiller in a reserve near Hunters Road in Mernda.
The council worker had found a kangaroo with a broken leg and appealed to the organisation to come to the animal’s aid.
Wildlife Victoria’s emergency response operator asked the caller whether Whittlesea council could send out a ranger to assist the kangaroo but was told that the council “didn’t have anyone to help” and “relies on Wildlife Victoria in these situations”.
Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman Amy Amato, said the organisation tried for hours to track down a volunteer who could travel to Mernda and assist the animal but no one was available. It also contacted police but was told they weren’t equipped to deal with the situation.
Whittlesea council was again told no one was available to attend to the kangaroo. It then sent a staff member from the local laws department who euthanised the injured animal.
“We receive thousands of calls every year from members of the community who have called their local council for help with a wildlife issue and have been referred to us, a small charity relying on the help of volunteers,” Ms Amato said.
She added these sorts of issues were becoming increasingly common in Whittlesea because of rapid housing development in what was up until very recently a predominately rural area.
“We are normally able to help and happy to do so, but the bigger picture is that we need financial assistance from all levels of government to continue providing this service,” Ms Amato said.
Whittlesea local laws manager Wayne Bullock said the council’s five rangers were experts at dealing with domestic animals but were not trained to care for wildlife.
“Wild animals become easily stressed and need to be treated by an expert such as a vet or wildlife carer,” he said.
Ms Amato said Wildlife Victoria encountered fewer problems when dealing with hurt wildlife found in Nillumbik and Hume.
Hume has five rangers who are all authorised to euthanise injured wildlife.
Nillumbik council works more closely with Help for Wildlife rather than Wildlife Victoria, and has its rangers transport injured or orphaned wildlife to the organision’s base in Coldstream.
Statistics from car insurer AAMI reveal the suburb of Whittlesea was the fifth worst in the state for collisions with animals last year.
Wildlife Victoria urges the community to continue to report injured wildlife to its emergency response service on 1300 094 535.
