Two teenagers were charged Tuesday over an alleged attack that killed 14 kangaroos, including two babies, on Australia’s east coast.
The 17-year-old boys were arrested after locals discovered the dead eastern grey kangaroos near Batemans Bay on Saturday morning, police said. They added that they found the dead animals across two separate areas near the beachside town.
The boys were charged for recklessly beating and killing an animal.
“It is a tragic and senseless act that has left an indelible mark on our dedicated Mid South Coast branch volunteers who attended the scene, as well as the local residents,” wildlife rescue organisation WIRES said on Facebook.
They added that one joey, named Hope, had survived and was being treated by a member of WIRES.
“Surprisingly, she’s doing incredibly well,” Mid South Coast WIRES chair Janelle Renes told national broadcaster ABC about Hope. “It took about two hours to warm her up and to see any real signs that she was going to survive.”
Renes said that it’s just devastation “to think of the horror they [the kangaroos] would have gone through”.
The teenagers need to appear in children’s court on November 22.
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