A KANGAROO has been put down after spending two traumatic days with an arrow lodged in its head.
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Local ecologist Ray Mjadwesch has been disgusted by the attack on the native animal, which he said could not have been an accident.
He said the RSPCA is interested in investigating the case and he is hoping local archers might recognise the distinctive arrow that he retrieved from the kangaroo.
Mr Mjadwesch was called to the Boundary Road Reserve on Sunday morning after residents reported seeing the stricken roo with an arrow in its head.
He had planned to tranquilise the injured animal so it could be given treatment, but despite spending several hours following the roo he could not get close enough for a safe shot.
“I followed him around for three hours but because he’s injured he’s really scared and I couldn’t get close enough,” he said.
“Darting from more than 20 metres carries the risk of causing even more injury. After three hours of trying to get close enough, it was clear the whole mob was very anxious and flighty, so it was time to leave them alone for a while.”
Mr Mjadwesch returned to the reserve late on Sunday and again yesterday, when he saw the animal heading down from Monteve Crescent.
This time he got close enough to take a shot with the tranquiliser dart but had to fire “left-handed through a fence” and missed, but he did get a photo of the roo that showed the arrow had gone in the front of its mouth and out the side of the head.
It was clear the animal could not be saved so Mr Mjadwesch continued following it, now with the intention of putting it down.
After shooting it once and wounding it, Mr Mjadwesch – with the assistance of Western Advocate photographer Zenio Lapka – kept on the trail to finally put the animal out of its misery.
“I feel awful,” he told the Western Advocate later.
“I spent two days on this and I’ve got better things to do than clean up after some idiot who decided to shoot a kangaroo in the head for no good reason.”
Mr Mjadwesch has kept the arrow in the hope it might be identified, but he holds out little hope of finding the offender.
He has no doubt what the punishment should be, though. “If they caught someone they should have to spend two days wandering around like I have just done.”
A spokesman for Bathurst police agreed it was unlikely charges would be laid after the shooting.
He said it was possible the archer did not even realise a kangaroo had been hit.
“It’s not illegal to use a bow and arrow in a safe location, and if an arrow’s been fired and gone off and accidentally struck an animal, the person who fired it might not even be aware.”