Town outraged after off-road drivers engage in 'deliberate' and senseless act: 'This is so disturbing'

A close-knit community in Australia is mourning the seemingly intentional killings of 10 wombats. 

The Victorian town of Venus Bay is reeling after discovering 10 wombats were mowed down by what appears to be three four-wheel drive vehicles. Police are searching for the vehicles and their drivers, who were witnessed nearby, Yahoo News reported.

An especially troubling fact is the care and love this community shows for its wildlife. 

Neighbors put up bright yellow signs with such phrases as "they just wanted to get home too" and "our local wildlife is dying for you to slow down" posted throughout the town, imploring drivers to operate their vehicles with caution and watch for wombats as well as other animals. There were also some kangaroos and a koala found struck nearby, according to Yahoo News. 

Police have called it a "deliberate destruction of wildlife."

Unlike other cases of animal deaths that have been caused by environmental factors, such as heat waves, this destruction of life looks to have been purposeful.

Police are asking anyone with information or dashcam footage to contact them. Local laws are strict concerning protected species, and according to the Wildlife Act of 1975, people found guilty of killing these species face a hefty fine or six months in prison for each animal killed.

As One Earth notes, wombats play an essential role in the local ecosystem, including helping to create habitats for other species and preventing soil erosion with their burrows. 

As reported in the Townsville Bulletin on a local Facebook page, one commenter wrote: "This is so disturbing for our beautiful town to lose so many wombats in one night." 

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Local Mark Radley told the Australian publication The Age that "it's just a feeling of utter devastation."

And yet, on the Tarwin Lower/Venus Bay Community Voice Facebook page, someone sounded a hopeful note, saying: "Kudos to the residents who have positioned [signs] at various places. Shows there are some caring people around."

Another asked a sensible question: "Is there anything we could do to minimize it from happening again?"

The community is banding together to try to find the people responsible for these animals' deaths, prevent more unnecessary loss of animal life, and attempt to educate the public about the importance of the civic responsibility human beings owe to the other beings that share our Earth.

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