Victoria recently launched a parliamentary inquiry into wildlife road strike, with a recent hearing in Bendigo.
While Mr Weyrich said he does not necessarily agree with some of the solutions put forward as part of the inquiry, he applauded the state’s commitment to finding a fix.
Mr Weyrich has been trying to get the NSW Government to act on the dangers posed to drivers because of “exploding kangaroo populations” for more than a decade.
When he was a councillor with Murray River Council, and Murray Shire Council before that, Mr Weyrich tried on multiple occasions for the NSW Government to work with the communities on a suitable solution.
A motion along these lines was supported by majority at the Local Government NSW conference in 2017.
All motions passed at these conferences are then referred to the NSW Government to enact, but Mr Weyrich said his was either ignored or shelved.
The result, he said, is a “prolific” problem - particularly between Deniliquin and Mathoura, and adjacent the Murray Valley National Park.
And he said growing emu numbers are also contributing to the risk.
Collisions with live or already dead roos are a regular occurrence, and Mr Weyrich maintains it is only a matter of time before a fatality occurs.
He said the mental wellness of country people is also at risk, with some feeling like prisoners in their own towns due to the fear of hitting a kangaroo.
“Hats off to Victoria for actually looking into it,” Mr Weyrich said.
“New South Wales needs to take note, and I would call on Member for Murray Helen Dalton to be agitating at state level to push for a round table to look at the options.
“We deserve to be looked after. People who hit roos are traumatised by it, and it’s not fun for the roo either.
“A number of roos are being hit and killed, and to a lesser extent emus.
“And New South Wales has greater distances between towns than Victoria, therefore increasing our risk, and hitting a roo in the middle of nowhere can be distressing.”
Victoria’s inquiry is considering the impact of road strike on drivers, including trauma incidents and motor vehicle damage.
Wildlife Victoria data presented to the inquiry suggests animals hit by a vehicle was the second-highest rescue case last year, with more than 13,600 recorded in Victoria.
Senior wildlife rescuer Ian Slattery’s submission to the hearing said road strikes on wildlife “are highly preventable”.
He called for preventative technologies to be trialled on roads, including virtual fencing, dynamic signage and wildlife detection systems.
He also urged the committee to reduce speed limits in known wildlife hot spots, and to build infrastructure that allowed animals to bypass roads, among other measures.
In contrast, Melbourne University research fellow Dr Kylie Soanes, an expert in road ecology, said “evidence of their success is scant” and suggested physical fencing targeted to species was the clearest way to reduce road strike.
Mr Weyrich agrees physical fencing would be more effective than preventative technologies, but also maintains a cull will be required.
“Sometime I think the decision makers feel animals are more important than human lives,” Mr Weyrich said.
To view the submissions to the Victorian inquiry, go to parliament.vic.gov.au/wildliferoadstrike.
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