Number of kangaroos being hit by cars on the rise
According to panel beaters and smash repairers, there has been a significant increase in the number of cars colliding with kangaroos. Glen Thomas from Bendigo in Victoria, said he has been working with 10 or so cars a week that have been damaged due to colliding with a kangaroo, this is in comparison to 1 or 2 a year ago.
“The drought has been forcing kangaroos closer to the roadside and people are hitting them during dusk and dawn” Mr Thomas said.
Mr Thomas added that kangaroos are popping up everywhere. “Locals in the country are surprised how many kangaroos are about, you can see them just about anywhere,” he said.
Insurance giant AAMI reports that interstate car transport companies are also seeing increased collisions with animals on interstate runs, out of 8,000 accident insurance claims analysed, the insurer found Canberra had the most amount of collisions between car and animals two years in a row.
The small town of Goulburn in NSW had the second most claims involving motorist and animal whilst 33% of Victorian collisions involve colliding with an animal.
Bendigo smash repairer states that Australia has an abundant population of kangaroos and wildlife animals and collisions with kangaroos in Australia remain a common motor insurance claim.
The population of kangaroos in Australia is at 50 million and this may have something to do with the spike in car accidents and collisions, during dawn and dusk is when they are most active and they are making their way to roads in search for food and water, therefore being more of a higher risk to oncoming cars during these times.
Due to the population, the NSW State Government implemented changes to kangaroo management that allows culling of kangaroos without requiring to physically tag the animal. Conservation groups such as LAOKO Snowy Mountains expressed no concern with culling given the size of the kangaroo population at this point in time.
However, others disagree with Environment Victoria campaigner Alexis Montana suggesting to look at the problem as a whole. “It’s not good enough to start culling as a solution, there are other solutions that can be adopted, including raising awareness, erecting fencing and promoting safer driving,” Montana said.
