A STRONG smell in the Stanley forest led a group of volunteers to an “awful” scene of mutilated animals on Sunday.
Flies swarmed around heads, limbs and fur from the tails of kangaroos, alongside a deer skin, which was found piled on the side of a track.
Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter's Sarah Smith said she was driving down Kohn’s Track about 2pm Sunday, when the overpowering smell led her to investigate.
After inspecting the remains, she estimated about nine kangaroos and one deer had been killed.
“I've seen some cruelty, but not to this extent, they were hacked up,” she said.
“I love animals and if I smell something, for peace of mind, I have to see what it was.
“I was so mad when I found this, to think they might have suffered and were killed… It's disgusting.”
The Kangaloola staff raise money and volunteer to rescue animals.
Miss Smith estimated the remains would have been dumped in the forest within the last two weeks.
French born volunteer Lucie Libaud, who is at Kangaloola for four weeks, said the discovery left her feeling disturbed.
“We were out looking for the dog when we drove down and smelt it,” she said. “We couldn’t believe it when we saw the pile. It's awful.”
In a Facebook post, the wildlife group posted a picture of the scene which it labelled a “massacre”.
“These roos are part of our mob, the Stanley Forest mob,” the post reads. Some of them might even have been nurtured and released from the shelter.”
Shelter operator Glenda Elliott said it had been reported to DELWP.
“People hunt foxes and supposed feral animals, but kangaroos are easy targets so they shoot them,” she said.
“Anyone with a gun license should know what you can and can't shoot. We feel very upset and very sick about it.”
A DELWP spokesperson said it is an offence for a person to hunt, take or destroy protected wildlife without authority.
Anyone with information on this incident to contact 136 186.
