Wallabies have been filmed hurling themselves into a metal fence after being trapped in a park for more than a year.
Animal welfare activists said the marsupials were “starving” after Cairns Regional Council erected barriers around the park in a suburb of the North Queensland city.
The Australian Society for Kangaroos (ASK) said some of the wallabies had “died trying to escape, smashing themselves up against fences”.
The council said it had installed fences around the animals during maintenance and development of the area. It said it was the state government’s responsibility to relocate the wallabies.
Footage filmed by locals shows the panicked marsupials throwing themselves at the metal fence as a woman with two dogs passes the enclosure.
Michael Beatty, of the RSPCA, said the wallabies' behaviour could have been caused by extreme stress triggered by barking dogs.
Volunteers have found as many as 80 wallabies dead at the park in the last two weeks, said Nikki Sutterby, president of ASK.
“They’ve got no habitat so they’re starving,” she told ABC News.
Council chief executive John Andrejic said the authority “installed additional fencing to try to reduce the number of wallabies making it on to the roadway” and had no powers to move the animals.
“However, council did provide support to a community organisation seeking approval to relocate wallabies from Trinity Beach,” he added. “The state government subsequently declined to issue a permit for this activity.”
The Department of Environment and Science said wildlife officers were aware of the footage and were investigating the behaviour of the wallabies.
A spokesman said the state government had given the council advice about how the manage the animals under Queensland’s conversation laws.
