An urgent council meeting has been called after wallabies were found to be starving at a wildlife sanctuary on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Dead wallabies have been found over several months at The Briars nature reserve in Mount Martha \u2014 known by traditional owners as Tichin-Gorourke \u2014 which is home to native flora and fauna including koalas, emu, echidnas, bandicoots and powerful owls.<\/p>\n
A study into the deaths commissioned by the Mornington Peninsula Shire council revealed that abundant rain over the past year had fuelled grass growth and an explosion in the sanctuary’s wallaby population, according to the council’s mayor.<\/p>\n
The University of Melbourne study reportedly found there were about 150 wallabies at The Briars but the reserve could sustain only around 30.<\/p>\n
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High rainfall and grass growth have led to an overpopulation of wallabies at The Briars. (ABC News: Bridget McArthur)<\/p>\n
The finding prompted Mayor Anthony Marsh to call an unscheduled council meeting for Tuesday night to vote on three options to reduce the population.<\/p>\n
“The reason why I’ve called an urgent meeting is so that we can get an answer quickly,” Mr Marsh said.<\/p>\n
He said the preferred and most humane option was to capture, sedate and relocate most of the wallabies.<\/p>\n
“They obviously do health checks and other things and they look at bringing in feedstock as well … but also desexing the population,” he said.<\/p>\n
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Anthony Marsh says the most humane option is to relocate the wallabies. (Supplied: Anthony Marsh)<\/p>\n
Mr Marsh said it would cost about $200,000 to rehome the animals, about twice as much as it would cost to euthanise all female wallabies and joeys.<\/p>\n
“While it’s more expensive, it’s a much more humane way and I think, given it is a wildlife sanctuary, that’s obviously the way that I think the community would expect us to approach this,” he said.<\/p>\n
He said the council would also have to discuss a much cheaper option \u2014 an indiscriminate cull.<\/p>\n
“So to come in and shoot a large portion of the population,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Marsh said the meeting would be open to the public given its sensitive nature and to avoid further controversy surrounding The Briars, which was scheduled to host an interactive Harry Potter exhibition and light show in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n