Mystery after several wallabies found dead at Queensland sporting field

A tragic video has captured the moment that eight wallabies were found dead on a sports field in Queensland.

It comes after six more wallabies were found dead in the surrounding area days before.

The Agile Project, a Cairns based, non-profit which strives to protect Agile Wallabies in Cairns shared a disturbing video of the eight dead wallabies found at the Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct.

The Agile Project was established in 2017 by Ecologist Shai Ager.

“We have just found eight dead wallabies,” Ms Ager can be heard saying in the video.

“We’ve got two alive, one had a tiny little pinkie [baby wallaby] we’re keeping nice a warm here”

“Wildlife carers are saying Trinity Beach is one of the worst places in Australia for macropods (including wallabies) being killed by cars,” Ms Ager told Yahoo News Australia.

“They’ve been pushed out of their land by Bluewater Development and are now forced to live in suburban backyards, sporting fields and strips of grass next to highways/roads.”

One joey, which was alive when the Agile Project got on the scene, reportedly tried to get back into its dead mother’s pouch.

“We don’t want to speculate at the moment, but it does look like these ones have been poisoned,” Ms Ager said in the video.

“The really weird thing is, there’s also been another six dead over in the baseball field in the past two days.”

Ms Ager said there were no bite marks on the wallabies found on the ALF field.

However, while investigations are ongoing, a spokesperson from Cairns Regional Council told Yahoo News Australia the deaths seemed to be stress related.

“Council is reviewing reports concerning the discovery a number deceased agile wallabies at the Trinity Beach Sporting Precinct,” the spokesperson said.

“Early indications suggest that the deaths are stress-related, likely associated with being chased by dogs.

“Council officers have removed a total of eight deceased wallabies from the area over the past two days; seven mature and one young joey (pinkie).

“Council is continuing to monitor the area and the Department of the Environment and Science has been notified.”

Ms Ager confirmed to Yahoo News Australia the bodies are being autopsied and toxicology samples are being taken.

The Agile Project has called for anyone with information to come forward.

According to The Agile Project, somebody had been “messing” with the one-way gates around the sporting field.

“Last night, if you were in the Trinity Beach area and saw someone throwing something over the fence, or acting strangely in this area, please get in contact with us.”

Queensland Police said they would not be investigating the incident and the matter was one for the state’s department of environment to look into.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science released a statement stating “no evidence of offences having been committed against Queensland’s nature conservation laws”.

“Agile wallabies are protected animals under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and fines apply for illegally killing them. The maximum fine is more than $30,000,” the statement said.

Ms Ager told Yahoo News Australia the Agile Project has been in a legal battle with the Queensland Government for more than a year now and there will be a tribunal hearing on the 28th to the 29th of October.

“We’ve been trying to get permission to relocate the wallabies to a safer habitat,” she said.

“If we’re granted this permit, this will be the first large-scale macropod relocation in Queensland. Local government [Cairns council] have supported us for quite some time now, which is great because it’s also the first time something like this has happened.

“If we prove this works, other situations where macropods are trapped, can use similar protocols. That way, we can set a precedent of relocation, instead of culling.”

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