posted on February 8, 2003 07:02:44 PM new
Man Charged in Hit-And-Run Deaths of Wombats
Feb 7, 10:03 am ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man has been charged with killing 12 wombats in multiple hit and runs along a road in a national park.
Bob Conroy, of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, said Friday that the killings of the small, bear-like marsupials, discovered on January 28, did not appear to be random.
"My understanding is that they were targeted and then run over a number of times," Conroy said. "It's quite a callous act of cruelty and we're quite horrified."
The bodies of the furry, slow moving wombats were scattered along the Wolgan road heading to Wallerawang, a town 125 miles west of Sydney.
Police said a 46-year-old man was charged Thursday with the deaths at the Wollemi National Park, the largest wilderness area in the state of New South Wales.
"He has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty and harm to native fauna," police said in a statement.
The man is due to appear in court on March 6.
Wombats are a native Australian marsupial and a protected species, though some farmers consider them a pest. The strength and size of the nocturnal animal has earned it the nickname as the "bulldozer of the bush."
