Joeys wired to die

By Monique Ebrington
CHUM Creek Wildlife Shelter carer Belinda Gales has nursed eight kangaroos found hanging from fences since December, and says it is a cruel fate for wildlife that can be avoided.
Ms Gales said that while kangaroos generally went under barbed and regular wire fences, they would try to go over a fence if startled.
“You’ll often find that while the mother roo is able to jump over the fence, it’s her young at foot that cannot bound over the fence. They can’t go that high,” Ms Gales said.
She said that kangaroos were often found by farmers, or fruit pickers, hanging by one or both of their legs.
Ms Gales is caring for a nine-month-old joey that was named Timmy after one of the fruit pickers who found him.
She said that Timmy, like the other kangaroos who were found on fences, had “horrendous” skin wounds and nerve damage when he was brought in by the pickers.
“The fence is like a tourniquet on the roo’s legs,” she said.
“Their hind legs or a claw get caught in the fence and they hang there. Timmy took a week and a half to stand up and he still can’t walk.”
She said that it would take him about two months to hop properly again.
While the rehabilitation process seemed long, she said Timmy was one of the lucky ones.
Ms Gales said that out of the eight kangaroos rescued from fences, two had to be put down and another died from its injuries.
“The worst part is that it’s avoidable,” she said. “A good fencer can construct a fence with the needs of the farmer in mind and one that will inflict the least amount of harm on the native animals.
“It will also save costs on fencing for farmers, if they don’t have to cut out injured wildlife.”
Ms Gales has spoken with local fencers and says solutions are available for property owners willing to choose a fence with wildlife in mind.
“In a lot of cases you can leave the bottom wire off, depending on the stock that is being fenced in,” she said.
“There’s also an old technique, which is to have barbed wire on the bottom rung, but it doesn’t stop wildlife and just ends up causing more harm to the animals.”
Ms Gales said if people found a kangaroo hanging from a fence they should cut the wire on either side of the kangaroo and call a wildlife shelter.
They should phone Ms Gales at the Chum Creek Wildlife Shelter on 5962 6950 or 0402 755 462.