Close Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
  • Competition
  • Home New
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Sunday, June 22
Breaking News
  • Fire destroys Moorooduc day spa
Facebook X (Twitter)
MPNEWSMPNEWS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Home New
Breaking News
MPNEWSMPNEWS
Home»News»‘Stranded’ kangaroos awaiting their fate
News

‘Stranded’ kangaroos awaiting their fate

By Keith PlattJanuary 10, 2022Updated:July 16, 2024No Comments3 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

HUNDREDS of kangaroos remain fenced in on a farm property at Cape Schanck, unable to return to the neighbouring national park.

The kangaroos have been on the property for more than three months and although a moratorium has been declared, a permit still exists for the landowner to shoot them.

Craig Thomson, of the Save Mornington Peninsual Kangaroos group, said being trapped for so long appeared to have changed the kangaroos’ normal behaviours “and they are demonstrating what could be interpreted as significant stress”.

He said the situation had not changed despite media attention and negotiations between Mornington Peninsula Shire, the Department of Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), animal welfare groups, and the property’s owner and manager.

Mr Thomson said the kangaroos’ situation was caused by “wildlife exclusion fencing, which is at odds with the local government planning scheme that covers this area”.

The manager of the Patterson Road has blamed “activists” for cutting boundary fences and letting the kangaroos enter (“‘Death threats’ over kangaroo cull” The News 5/10/21). 

“This type of fencing prevents any wildlife movement, including other animals such as echidnas and is a scourge on the peninsula’s landscape,” Mr Thomson said.

“We know of no one who has or who would cut the fencing and do not encourage this type of vandalism against private property.”

He said the DELWP’s official estimate of kangaroo number on the peninsula were wrong. 

“DELWP is known to bend the truth … Mornington Peninsula Wildlife Action Group and animal activists participated in a Count Your Mob survey through iNaturalist to confirm that numbers of kangaroos on the Mornington Peninsula are closer to 2000 than the 7000 quoted by DELWP.

“The property manager has said that sick kangaroos from the national park have infected the kangaroos on his property. We have heard that old and unwell kangaroos will be killed. On what basis are these statements being made?

“Saying that wildlife are diseased seems to have become a common excuse for culling.”

Mr Thomson said wildlife groups were “eager to work” with the land managers to release the kangaroos as soon as possible.

The property manager contacted The News before Christmas and said that while some land owners “don’t mind kangaroos, others have put up exclusion fencing”.

He said fences at six other properties had also been cut “but only one [owner] is standing up, the others don’t want to be victimised”.

Despite claims that the land was unused, he said it was run as a “fodder property”, growing grass and supplying hay to feed animals on the owner’s other farms.

The land was also used by a commercial apiarist who produced and sold honey under a well-known label.

The manager has told The News that some of the kangaroos on his property – “the weak and sick” – would probably be shot before the rest of the mob was released back into the national park.

He said there was not enough available food for the increasing numbers of kangaroos in the national park because previously grassed areas had been replanted with trees.

First published the Southern Peninsula News – 11 January 2022

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Lyn takes the reins at Hastings SES

June 19, 2025

Repower donate energy efficiency kits

June 18, 2025

Shire seeks grants for sports upgrades

June 18, 2025

Peninsula builder banned after abandoning jobs

June 12, 2025
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Peninsula Essence Magazine – Click to Read
Peninsula Kids Magazine – Click to Read
Letters to the Editor
Property of the Week

14 Bass Street, McCrae

June 3, 2025
Council Watch

Council adopts ‘fresh vision’ with ‘stronger community ties’

May 6, 2025

Council hubs to stay open despite $389 per visit

April 30, 2025
100 Years Ago This Week

Railway Proposal – Heatherton To Western Port

June 17, 2025
Interview

Firefighter shows skills from sea to snow

February 5, 2024
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Home New
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook X (Twitter)
© 2025 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.