ANOTHER appearance of Skippy at Mount Panorama has prompted a desperate call from councillor Warren Aubin to finally fully fence the circuit.
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On Wednesday afternoon, Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Shane van Gisbergen posted an Instagram story showing a kangaroo bounding down pit lane.
Teams were working in their garages at the time.
Cr Aubin saw footage on social media and immediately wrote to his fellow councillors telling them fencing was needed for future motor sport events at the Mount.
In the past, he has been a proponent of culling kangaroos on Mount Panorama, but now he is fully committed to the idea of fencing as a way to manage the problem.
"It is time that we look at fully fencing the whole track because that is the only way to keep them out of the track," Cr Aubin said.
"We can't shoot them because we're not allowed, you can't herd them away because they come back, so the only thing you can do is to fence them out."
In addition to writing to councillors, Cr Aubin has also requested that permanent fencing be put forward for consideration in the 2020-21 council budget.
Currently, Bathurst Regional Council spends approximately $100,000 annually on temporary fencing, which is put up before each major motor sport event.
Cr Aubin said permanent wildlife fencing would come at a significant cost, but within a few years council would be saving money by not having to pay for temporary fencing.
"It's an infrastructure investment to make it safer for the drivers and for the kangaroos. It's a win-win," he said.
He will be watching this weekend's practice, qualifying and race sessions very closely and hopes there won't be a repeat of Wednesday, or worse.
"This is very, very worrying for me to see this picture one or two days out from a major race event," Cr Aubin said.
"It would be putting the chills up the spines of these international drivers."
He said if a driver were to hit a kangaroo on the circuit in race conditions, they could be seriously injured, and an incident like that could also affect the future of the event.
"We are trying to sell ourselves as an international venue," he said.
"If they know there is a danger of an animal jumping out in front of them, I know I'd be having second thoughts about [racing here] myself."
Over the course of the weekend, race officials will be monitoring the track closely for wildlife.
Cr Aubin said if any kangaroos are spotted close to or on the circuit, special flags will be waved and a message will be delivered to teams and drivers via the communication channels.