Wombat joey found dead after mother fatally shot while eating
A Victorian vet is trying to find the person responsible for shooting and killing a wombat carrying a joey.
Vet 2 Pet’s Dr Laura Schram said a wildlife volunteer came across the dead marsupial on Wednesday night in Wallan, north of Melbourne. The wombat’s joey also died.
Dr Schram described the find to Yahoo7 News as “awful”.
“This wombat had a mouthful of food and was just outside her burrow when someone shot her with a bullet clean through her chest breaking both of her arms,” she said.
“We had to remove the joey from the pouch and found it dead.
“The baby was saveable too – whether this person shot the wombat by accident or not, they could have brought the baby in, but instead it died in the cold.”
Dr Schram has reported the incident to authorities. She described the act as “brutal”.
“I hope they find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
The vet added the wombat’s body would be kept as evidence to help find the person who killed her.
The Department of Land, Environment, Land, Water and Planning has been contacted for comment.
