It was indeed a bitter irony that what was left of the animals was found by three people who happen to devote their time to rescuing our native wildlife at the Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter.

There, they nurse sick and injured animals back to good health and in the best of cases, release them to places like the Stanley Forest.

More is the irony that some of the animals killed may well have passed through the shelter at some point. What a truly heartbreaking discovery it must have been for Sarah Smith, Francesca Sharpe and Lucie Libaud to find the carnage as they drove down Kohn’s Track on Sunday afternoon.

In an angry Facebook post, Kangaloola published a disturbing picture of the scene and told of the personal nature of the pain the staff were feeling: “These roos are part of our mob, the Stanley Forest mob”.

Shelter operator Glenda Elliott said it had left them feeling sick, a feeling that would be broadly shared by Border Mail readers. 

Those who don’t sympathise might be of the opinion that kangaroos are not much more than “a pest”, and there are too many of them. People are entitled to their opinions but that is one that doesn’t even warrant an airing. It is irrelevant to what has happened and the fact remains – kangaroos are a protected species under Australian law.

As unlikely as it might be, we can only hope that the perpetrators of this disgusting act are caught and given the most severe punishment that is available to authorities. If anyone knows anything about the matter, they must report it.

The wonderful work of Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter has won it friends and supporters around the world. Recently the shelter was visited by a Buddhist Monk, Sonam.

At the shelter, Sonam was greeted by two wombats, Pudgy and Star, who wanted to chew on his shoelaces. But it was not long until a seriously injured kangaroo was brought in for care. The Buddhist monk told the volunteers he could see such animals were “totally helpless” without the wildlife carers.

Asked what he would say to people about native wildlife after his visit, Sonam said it better than we can: “If you can help the animals, then do so. If you cannot, then at least do no harm.”