Cardinia Shire residents stood in solidarity with hundreds of wildlife advocates at Lillydale Lake on 2 August, rallying to demand an end to Victoria’s commercial kangaroo shooting.
The protest, led by the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance (VKA), followed the State Government’s rejection of Yarra Ranges Council’s unanimous request to ban commercial shooters from its shire—a move many hoped would set a precedent across Victoria.
While the rally was held in the Yarra Ranges, Cardinia locals brought their own concerns, rooted in escalating incidents close to home.
In recent months, a series of alarming incidents have unfolded across the shire. In July, an Upper Beaconsfield resident reported two kangaroos being shot near her property, drawing attention from wildlife rescuers. Earlier this year, a man was charged with animal cruelty following multiple kangaroo shootings in Emerald.
Road trauma remains a major concern. In Cardinia, Wildlife Victoria responded to 208 reports of road strikes. Many instances go unreported. Across Australia, about 7000 insurance claims are made each year regarding a collision with a kangaroo.
“We need to do better” was the message from protest speakers, including Aboriginal elder, academic, and artist Janet Turpie-Johnstone; local kangaroo advocate Peter Preuss; and wildlife veterinarian Dr Natasha Bassett.
Yarra Ranges councillors Len Cox OAM and Tim Heenan joined State MPs Georgie Purcell (Animal Justice Party) and Aiv Puglielli (Greens) also addressed the crowd, reinforcing the call for urgent action.
A Victorian Government spokesperson backed the kangaroo harvesting program, emphasising the importance of managing kangaroo populations responsibly.
“Kangaroo populations can have significant impacts on Victoria’s environment and farmland, so sometimes it is necessary to control their population in a sustainable and humane way,” spokesperson said.
“The Government has provided a total $3 million over the next two years to continue the Kangaroo Harvesting Program, including to conduct an annual statewide kangaroo population survey, administration and compliance.”
“Commercial quotas are set at no more than 10 per cent of the population each year, to ensure harvesting does not compromise the sustainability of kangaroo populations.”
VKA president Alyssa Wormald said the minister’s rejection left the community “traumatised and heartbroken”.
“We gathered because the Minister for Environment refused the Shire of Yarra Ranges Council’s unanimous request to be exempt from commercial kangaroo shooting, despite this industry driving a massive increase in the killing of kangaroos.”
Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell slammed the Victorian Government’s kangaroo harvesting program, describing it as a “government-sanctioned massacre” disguised as population control.
“Every day, I remain outraged at the Victorian Government’s brutal and unjustifiable war on kangaroos,” Purcell said.
“This isn’t the first time, and I dare say it probably won’t be the last time, that Jacinta Allan has betrayed animals. And that’s because she’s in the corner of the shooters and the gun lobby.”
MP Puglielli, who raised the issue in parliament two years ago, condemned the continued bureaucratic buck-passing.
“We called on the Minister for Agriculture initially to withdraw our community,” Puglielli said.
“The Agriculture Minister referred us on to the Minister for Outdoor Recreation, which is ridiculous, to say it bluntly, and plainly wrong on so many levels.
“The commercial slaughter of kangaroos has nothing to do with recreation. Effectively, we were being duck-shoved into a whole different department in the hope that we would just give up.
And as people here would know, we can’t give up.”
Cr Len Cox challenged both the crowd and the government to reflect on what’s at stake.
“People come from overseas to visit Australia and they expect to see kangaroos,” he said. “How are we going to explain to them and how is our government going to explain to them why there are no kangaroos to be seen out in the bush because we shot them all out?”
Elder Turpie-Johnstone warned the crowd that the harm inflicted on kangaroos is changing not only them but us.
“Kangaroos are an incredible symbol of how we push a species in our time,” she said.
“We can see it happening — what we’re doing to them, how we’re changing their biology, their social connections, everything about them.
“With every bullet, we become incredibly disassociated. With every joey that’s stomped on and with every femur that stops producing babies, we become a little different.”
While the protest was a call for policy change, it was also a demand for new leadership.
“We have elected governments, not for the people, of the people, or with the people. We have elected governments of the lobbyists, of the greed and the fortunes that are built through the lobbyists,” Turpie-Johnstone said.
“Steve is the environment minister, a role that should mean care, protection, and respect for wildlife. However, instead he’s acting as the minister for ‘ecocide’, supporting and expanding policies that drive their destruction and extinction. Shame on you, Jacinta Allan. This is happening under your leadership,” VKA vice president Helena Jedjud said.
With a state election looming next year, some fear little will change but the mood at the protest was one of determination, not defeat.
“I hope that we can take that next step and take it to Spring Street (Parliament House),” advocate Preuss urged.
“To the Premier and the Minister of Environment, we will continue to oppose your savage kangaroo kills. Let Yarra Ranges and the other councils who have spoken out to be an inspiration to others,” MP Purcell said.
Wormald closed the event by encouraging unity and continued pressure.
“We all departed the event united in our determination to safeguard kangaroos, and hold those responsible for this horrendous wildlife trade accountable,” Wormald said.
“We call on the community to continue speaking out, and demand that the Premier and Minister for Environment get commercial kangaroo shooters out of our Shire, and out of our state.”
