A kangaroo with horrific gunshot injuries is suffering somewhere in the Shoalhaven.
Gunshots were heard on Friday, January 26 near the Shoalhaven Ski Park in Nowra and the alive kangaroo was found nearby on Saturday morning by a family.
Nowra resident and wildlife animal control expert Dusty Jones was contacted to locate and humanely destroy the animal but after searching for more than an hour, it couldn't be found.
Dusty has more than 35 years experience in the wildlife field and currently operates a snake removal business but said it's the cruelest injury he's ever seen.
"What you're seeing in that photo is the kangaroo's tongue and throat torn out and the jaw completely hanging down," he said.
"It brought me to tears."
Dusty estimates the kangaroo was shot by a 303 or a 308 rifle, not a 22, and from a distance of around 100 metres. He said the person who shot the roo would know what they'd done.
"The animal would've been knocked unconscious in shock and they could've gone and finished it," he said.
"Even from 200 metres they would've seen it but to shoot it and leave it like that is the worst I've ever seen."
Dusty estimates the kangaroo would be around five or six years old and urged anyone who may see it to contact Wildlife Rescue South Coast on 0418 427 214.
If you have any information in regards to the shooting, contact Nowra Police on 4421 9699.
