Local kangaroo mobs were a topic of contention at this month’s Moorabool council meeting, with the council to write to the state government regarding resident concerns.
At the July 2 council meeting, councillor Moira Berry raised an urgent business item calling on the council to write to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to ask what is in place for managing mobs of kangaroos that are “a growing concern accessing our streets in Darley and Bacchus Marsh”.
At the September 3 meeting, a council response drew attention to the state’s Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2024–2028 and its implications on Moorabool.
Moorabool will also write to the state regarding resident concerns.
Cr Berry said the issue was affecting one of the large lettuce growers in town.
“They never [had] kangaroos down on their property until now … they had been eating a lot of the lettuces,” Cr Berry said.
Also citing road safety concerns, she said she had received calls from residents about kangaroos spotted hopping in front of the Darley Civic and Community Hub along the footpath and crossing roads.
Cr Steve Venditti-Taylor objected to the item, which he said was due to conversations he had had with residents – including a leader of an animal rescue organisation.
“His comments were down the line of he doesn’t see that much of an issue, and it becomes seasonal when they’re coming in and chasing water. I think we probably just need to do a little bit more investigation with this,” Cr Venditti-Taylor said.
“A couple of kangaroos eating a couple of lettuce leaves is a lot different from a response of culling kangaroos – and eventually, probably wiping them out from the whole of Moorabool.”
In response, Cr Berry said the issue was not about “a couple of lettuces being eaten”.
“We are talking about a business that has been in the area for years and are losing a lot of their product and they are concerned,” she said.
“We can’t have them hopping around on our streets and eating our food supply … in the dense population of Bacchus Marsh.”
