Sunday, 28 March 2010

Remembering a murdered mob.

The shameful slaying of two dozen roos in South Morang was commemorated today at a gathering of Wildlife Rescuers and Wildlife Victoria volunteers in the paddock where the slaughter took place.
Volunteers brought signs, roo masks & tails and plush roos. A number of journos milled about, photographers snapping photos of the more interesting sights (like the woman shown here). Notables from both organisations reviewed the details of January's secret slaughter and exhorted the crowd to turn its outrage into action. I was able to reconnect with several Wildlife Rescue volunteers and am eager to jump back into the fray.
Speakers address the crowd.

Wooden roos represented those shot by the DSE. People were invited to write messages on them -- they'll be on display at Parliament House on Wednesday @ 11 am during another protest.

Narelle asked me to join her and several volunteers to check on a roo call in Whittlesea after the demonstration in South Morang. We found a large male in the front yard of a home, obviously injured. He was knocked out by a dart shooter from 30 metres. The photo above shows him surrounded by volunteers (his head is covered to minimise stress). The lower part of his leg was badly swollen and he showed other injuries that would indicate a collision with a motor vehicle. We put him in a roo bag before he was taken to a property in St Andrews to stay for the night. He'll be taken to Healesville Sanctuary tomorrow for x-rays. Sadly, his prognosis is not good.

Just after we carried the injured roo to a ute, a mob of roos came bouncing over a hill behind the house. Must have been at least three dozen. They leaped over a paddock fence, crossed a dirt road and bounded into an adjoining paddock. Graceful, athletic ... and tragically underappreciated.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sigh...it's very sad