The actions of a Tasmanian road user who was spotted with dead wallabies hanging from the back of a ute have been condemned by the RSPCA.
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The dead macropods, either wallabies or kangaroos, were gutted and attached to a rear bar with their heads facing the road, and were visible to pedestrians, and any road user travelling behind the car.
The incident mirrors the actions of a Longford farmer who displayed dead feral cats along a publicly visible fence.
RSPCA Tasmania chief executive Jan Davis said the display of dead animals was an unnecessary and distressing act.
She said common decency should prevail, where hunters could simply cover carcasses with a tarp to avoid exposing others to a confronting experience.
"We would urge people to carefully consider the impact that their actions have on others," Ms Davis said.
"Some poor kid might see that. It's just gross."
Display of dead animals a legal grey area
Ms Davis said she was not aware of any current laws that would prevent such an act.
She added that a common sense approach was preferred over legislation.
"There was no law that stopped the farmer nailing the cats to the fence. There is no blanket rule that you cannot do this," Ms Davis said.
"It is a very problematic issue but case-by-case consideration is necessary."
A council in southern Tasmania, which received a complaint regarding the visible hanging of wallabies on private property, suggested that it would only get involved if the act posed a risk to public health or was a statutory nuisance.
Biosecurity regulations in Tasmania suggest that animal carcasses must be dealt with in a hygienic manner.
