SICK ROO HUNT THUGS

Residents’ horror at ghoulish ‘pastime’ where owners make dogs maul wildlife

RESIDENTS are up in arms over a “sick pastime’’ involving men deliberately taking their dogs after dark to maul kangaroos in Coombabah wetland.

One resident has told how they leapt into waist-deep water to save a kangaroo being mauled by dogs, while the owners of the vicious hounds hurled abuse from the riverbank.

The Gold Coast City Council and RSPCA are investigating the “sick” afterdark hunts in Coombabah wetland. Offenders are facing fines of up to $30,000.

“I thought someone needed help with a dog but then I saw two dogs attacking a kangaroo in the river. I went in, knee to waist-deep, and tried to scare the dogs away,” he said. “I grew up on a farm but I haven’t seen anything like it.’’

A RESIDENT has leapt into waist-deep water to save a kangaroo being mauled by dogs, while the owners of the vicious hounds hurled abuse from the riverbank.

The Gold Coast City Council and RSPCA are investigating the “sick” after-dark hunts in Coombabah wetland. Offenders are facing fines of up to $30,000.

A man said he jumped into Coombabah Creek at dusk last week when he heard splashing, screaming and barking.

“I thought someone needed help with a dog but then I saw two dogs attacking a kangaroo in the river. I went in, knee to waist-deep, and tried to scare the dogs away,” he said.

“These were not normal dogs, they were trained to hunt and they were after this kangaroo. I grew up on a farm but I haven’t seen anything like it.

“I realised afterwards that I could have been in danger. They could have turned on me in the water.

“Two dogs mauling a kangaroo is not hunting. It’s disgusting. I want these people caught, it’s the most cruel thing to see.”

He said he screamed at the owners, who were watching from the banks, to help him but they ignored him.

“When the kangaroo eventually escaped, they started swearing at me,” he said.

Photographs of the men and the aggressive canines – mixed-breed dogs not on leashes – have been circulated to residents at The Estuary and The Summer Waters Resort, which back on to the Coombabah Creek and the Coombabah Wetlands.

The area is home to kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, birds and other protected wildlife.

Steve Jeffery, of The Estuary and Summer Waters Resort Neighbourhood Watch Focus Group, urged residents to report the incidents.

“This is a sick pastime. These men don’t live here and we want them stopped,” he said in an email to residents.

“They’ve been seen prowling around the reserve at night in waist-high, rubber waders with headlights.”

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said: “If we charge these offenders with animal cruelty, they could be fined up to $30,000. And if they are charged by the Department of Environment and Science, the fines could be a lot higher.

“Kangaroos are native wildlife, so they’re protected from this type of activity. You can’t just go down and shoot or hunt them. Definitely not.”

Mr Beatty said the only organised, legal culling of kangaroos was carried out through Biosecurity Queensland, but this did not happen often.

Another resident, who has lived at The Estuary for 20 years, said she had seen a large, black, mixed-breed dog fighting with a kangaroo. She said the kangaroo was fairly tame and often seen in the area.

“The dog looked like one of those in a photograph sent to us,” she said. “The dog eventually got tired and the kangaroo escaped in to the river.”

She said she and other residents were also upset about strangers coming into the area to set their dogs on kangaroos.

“We love the wildlife around here and we don’t want them scared away or hurt.”

Police said the incidents were a council matter.

Report animal cruelty to the RSPCA on 1300 264 625 or 1300 852 188.