Tag Archives: kangaroos

Roos to be locked out of golf course

Cull cancelled but questions remain

AFTER A HUGE community outcry, the Heritage Golf and Country Club has decided not to proceed with a planned cull of kangaroos on its two courses, instead installing fencing to lock the roos out of the fairways. The Club put out a press release in July announcing that they had listened to community concerns and decided to cancel the “Council approved cull”. Local Councils came out swinging as Heritage Golf Club attempted to implicate them in approval of the now aborted kangaroo cull at the club. In a strongly worded statement, both Yarra Ranges and Nillumbik Councils refute the claim in their press release that the cull was “Council approved”.
Yarra Ranges statement said:“Council wishes to advise it was not involved in any decision to approve the culling of kangaroos at the Heritage Golf and Country Club. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) not Council, is responsible for managing wildlife in Victoria. Council understands the management of kangaroos is a sensitive topic that is of great concern to our community. We will be contacting Heritage Golf and Country Club to ask them to correct their media release.”
 Nillumbik Shire Council also issued a statement to “correct unequivocally for the record, inaccuracies contained in this statement”.
The land owned by the proprietors of the Heritage Golf and Country Club encompasses three separate Local Government Areas — Nillumbik Shire Council, as well as Yarra Ranges and Manningham. Councils, however, do not have the authority to make decisions on the culling of native wildlife. Permission to do so can only be sought and obtained through the appropriate State Government agencies – the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) or the Game Management Authority. A key consideration in this matter is that the area in which the club is situated is a significant protective corridor for native wildlife and any use of the land must therefore take this status into account. Our community places a high value on the protection of native wildlife and the environment in which they live, and Council makes it a priority to act in the community’s interests on this issue. At its Planning and Consultation Committee Meeting on 8 June 2021, Council resolved, unanimously, to express its concern over initial reports of a planned kangaroo cull and subsequently wrote to the club to inform it of this resolution. Council also requested that the club consider alternative (nonlethal) approaches to managing the kangaroo population, should there be an absolute need to control the numbers on its property. In light of recent developments, Nillumbik Shire Council also wishes to express its deep concern at reports from the community — including from animal rescue service Wildlife Victoria — of the killing of kangaroos in the area.”
Heritage’s Press Release went on to say there was a meeting on May 6 where interested parties including Wildlife Victoria, Club management and residents met and discussed plans to cull kangaroos at the Heritage Golf and Country Club property. Club management claim their plans to cull the kangaroos was due to a “tripling of the population in 12 months due to a breeding surge during the drought and the advantages of easy access to a carpet of grass on golfing fairways”.
However, Wildlife Victoria CEO Lisa Palma said a tripling of a kangaroo population in 12 months is “simply biologically impossible and absolutely ludicrous”.
“Female kangaroos commonly have one young annually, with the mortality rate in the wild for joeys typically at 70 per cent in the first year of life,” she said.
New club Managing Director Dr Cher Coad has blamed Parks Victoria for not managing the population in neighbouring Warrandyte State Park.
“If the Victorian State government was doing its job, in terms of managing the land bordering the Heritage Golf and Country Club, then we wouldn’t have this problem,” she said.
She says the lack of golfers during the recent COVID lockdown has provided kangaroos with unlimited access to the Heritage Golf and Country Club and they are reluctant to move, with management raising fears of the bigger male kangaroos becoming aggressive towards people.
“While the risk of this happening is quite small, the responsibility of the HGCC is to club members, visiting golfers, residents and their families and young children,” said Dr Coad.
“We have excessive numbers of kangaroos on our fairways and grounds, and they are powerful and potentially dangerous.
“The last thing we want is for a large grey kangaroo to cause harm to a golfer or children visiting their grandparents,” she said.
Ms Palma said she absolutely refuted the notion that the kangaroo population is dangerous with Wildlife Victoria receiving no reports kangaroo aggression towards people at the site.
“Some of the larger male kangaroos are known by the locals to be peaceful creatures, who enjoy the natural habitat of the local landscape.
“Indeed, the big fellow known as Scar Face is beloved by many in the community,” said Ms Palma.
“In direct contrast to Heritage’s statement, Wildlife Victoria has received an inordinate number of calls from concerned members of the public, residents, golfers and staff who are terribly worried for the safety and wellbeing of the kangaroo population on site.
Dr Coad said while the treatment of kangaroos is fraught with regulatory and ethical difficulties, the Heritage Golf and Country Club recognises the need for golfers and kangaroos to co-exist. Growing evidence leans towards the idea that the kangaroo population must be managed via more humane means. Ms Palma said that since the meeting of May 6, no further discussion had taken place between those parties.
“Instead, we have witnessed the result of stealthy cruel and violent attacks on the kangaroo population night after night at the site — this has been ongoing for months now!”
The recent spate of kangaroo deaths at the Club is currently subject to a multi-agency investigation. Ms Palma said to date, Wildlife Victoria has seen a significant number of cases of kangaroos that have been savaged by dogs, shot, dismembered and driven over by vehicles.
“We have taken many calls and received letters from members of the public who are too afraid to walk on or near the grounds for fear of the dogs turning on the locals,” Ms Palma said. DELWP issued a statement, saying the Conservation Regulator is “continuing its investigation into alleged fatal and harmful dog attacks on kangaroos at Heritage Golf and Country Club in Chirnside Park”. The statement said Victoria Police and local councils are assisting the Conservation Regulator with the investigation and Conservation Regulator Authorised Officers are conducting patrols in the area. Dr Coad said the task to oversee the management and protection of kangaroos lies with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). She said the “kangaroos will be relocated back into the Warrandyte State Forrest [sic] and the property will be fenced”. Ms Palma said it is outrageous, unacceptable and illegal for the Heritage Golf and Country Club to relocate the kangaroos without the required authorisation from the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning. Despite this, Ms Palma said Wildlife Victoria remains hopeful that Heritage Management will consult with the group to achieve a positive outcome for the remaining kangaroos on the site.
Anyone with information about the alleged dog attacks or other cases of wildlife crime should contact Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000.
The Diary will continue to follow this story over the coming months and hopes to speak further with Club management and Wildlife Victoria in time for the September edition.

(UPDATE) This story was originally in the July Bulletin and has been updated for the August Diary.

Country Club in crosshairs over kangaroo cull

OUTRAGE and immediate action from the local community and local wildlife protection groups brought about a stay-of-execution for the kangaroos at Heritage Golf and Country Club, on Tuesday, April 27.
With mere hours’ notice, owners of properties adjacent to the golf club on the edge of Wonga Park were informed a kangaroo cull would take place on the grounds that evening.
This information was immediately shared on various community group and wildlife protection social media pages.
The information was shared widely, Warrandyte Diary has recorded 221 comments across 27 shares of its post with many comments expressing distaste at the advertised action, there was also some debate around the issues of dealing with wildlife populations, as Melbourne’s suburban growth continues to place settlements in wildlife territory or push populations into green wedge areas.
The Heritage Golf and Country Club’s own Facebook page received 838 comments on their most recent post with people protesting the kangaroo cull.
Local wildlife protection group Save the Kinley Kangas (STKK) mounted an on-site protest, on the evening of Tuesday, April 27 and through combined community action were able to postpone the cull.
A further demonstration was scheduled for Wednesday, April 28 but this was called off at the last minute when demonstrators were able to get assurances the cull would be postponed for the time being.
STKK is a team of highly skilled veterinary and wildlife experts that mobilised with the community in response to a proposed cull of the kangaroo mob on the Kinley development in Lilydale.
The Diary spoke with STKK representative Alyssa Wormald.
“We worked collaboratively with the developer to produce a high-level relocation proposal for the Kinley kangaroos, based on proven best-practice methodology,” she said.
Ms Wormald told the Diary they had heard about the Heritage Golf Course cull, via social media, at 2pm that afternoon and that the cull was a financial decision and not about population control.
Ms Wormald also informs the Diary that while the cull is temporarily postponed, the kangaroos are still at risk.
“Our understanding is that this is a poorly considered financial move to sell the carcasses for pet food.
“According to long term residents and staff, the kangaroos cause no trouble and are beloved by locals and guests alike.”
“7 News reported the General Manager of the Club intends to go ahead with the cull as soon as they can.
“We hope to convince them that it would be a great PR move to cancel the cull and show they are a club that respects wildlife and the community by working with us to resolve any genuine issues with the kangaroos,” she said.
The Diary also asked the group about how the response would have played out if notice had been days or even weeks in advance.
“It’s deeply concerning that culls are allowed to go ahead with so little notice and no community consultation.
“It is extremely distressing to the many people who care about these local mobs.
“If we had known about it in advance, we could have reached out to the club to provide our assistance pro-bono.
“We could have worked together towards a really positive outcome for all involved.
“As it is, we have offered our services to the club but we have had no response, possibly because they have been bombarded with communications from concerned community members.
“It is essential that wildlife be considered in future planning, preserving habitat and green corridors wherever possible.”
The Diary then asked Alyssa about how we manage wildlife in the face of suburban development.
“If wildlife cannot be adequately accommodated, relocation must be the next step.
“The State Government has an outdated resistance to the relocation of kangaroos based on flawed research.
“We know experts like ours can safely and humanely relocate kangaroos and this should always be the first option.
“The government makes it extremely difficult to gain approval to move native macropods yet there are no restrictions on moving introduced farm animals that are environmentally damaging.
“It is non-sensical,” she said.
The Diary also reached out to Heritage Golf and Country Club for comment but are yet to receive a response.
STKK report that they have negotiated a cease-fire while talks take place to find a solution.
The Diary continues to monitor the situation.

Wildlife slaughter: Roo killers could face up to two years in jail

WARRANDYTE car wash workers hope CCTV footage will help police catch the person or group of people who dumped 11 dead kangaroos outside their workplace last month.

Six kangaroos were mysteriously dumped in an industrial bin outside the carwash near Goldfields Plaza in late February.

George Vattakuzhy discovered another five dead kangaroos in the same spot while working just one week later.

The carwash’s manager, Samantha O’Brien, said the business had never encountered such “worrying” behaviour before.

“They dumped the kangaroos in an area where it’s built up – there’s a shopping centre next door and there are always kids and families around. It’s frightening,” Samantha said.

“People live in Warrandyte because they like native wildlife and the environment but even if somebody does view kangaroos as pests it doesn’t give them the right to basically slaughter them.”

Workers say warm weather caused the bin to develop a strong, disgusting odour, which was unsettling for those who were left to remove the kangaroos and clean the bin after the shocking discovery.

“You just don’t go to work expect- ing to see and deal with something so horrible,” Samantha said.

“It’s a slow process but we’re reviewing the footage carefully with the hope that police will be able to identify whoever did this.”

Warrandyte Police senior constable Daniel Logan said the carcasses were so badly decomposed that police couldn’t determine how the kangaroos had been killed.

He said half of the kangaroos found were juveniles.

“This is a really nice area, this sort of activity is very disturbing and we’re very anxious to catch the people or the person doing this,” he said.

“We have to assume that it’s someone around this area, because you wouldn’t really travel long distances in a car with several dead kangaroos.”

Just one day after the five kangaroos were dumped in the industrial bin at the carwash, a council worker discovered the headless body of an adult female kangaroo on Brysons Rd, Wonga Park.

“The council worker who saw the kangaroo said it wasn’t an animal – animals tear and rip,” senior constable Logan said.

“A clean and sharp object had removed the kangaroo’s head.”

These recent incidents come after two kangaroos were shot in the head and neck with arrows in Templestowe in recent times.

Police are investigating whether the deaths are connected, with senior constable Logan saying it’s possible someone chopped off the kangaroo’s head to disguise the fact that it had been injured with an arrow.

Kangaroos are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975.

Anyone found guilty of killing or seriously disabling protected wildlife faces a possible jail sentence of up to two years.

News of the dumped bodies has spread on social media, with Diary readers labelling the incidents as “disgusting” and “horrible”.

Wildlife Victoria CEO Karen Masson was “sickened” to hear the reports about the kangaroos.

“We have an amazing team of volunteers who work extremely hard to assist sick and injured kangaroos reported to our Emergency Response Service every day, so it’s heartbreaking to hear that someone in the community would treat native wildlife in such an horrific manner,” Ms Masson said.

“We sincerely hope the culprits are found and held accountable.”

Police have urged residents to be aware of suspicious activity around Warrandyte and the state parks.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000.

The Warrandyte Diary will keep readers updated through our website.