Man admits to hunting, killing kangaroos on suburban Dawesville street

A 23-year-old Mandurah man who killed two kangaroos on the suburban streets of Dawesville will be sentenced next month.

The man, whose name has been suppressed, appeared in the Mandurah Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he changed his plea to guilty on two charges of animal cruelty. 

He is accused of using a dog to hunt down a kangaroo on Balladonia Parade on January 23 last year before using an unknown object to hit it.

Three days later the man also admitted to being a passenger in a car that intentionally ran over and killed a kangaroo on the same street.

No one else has been charged over the incidents.

Speaking outside of court, the man's brother said hunting kangaroos was Aboriginal cultural practice.

“This happens so often in Aboriginal families,” he told 9News.

“They go out, they catch native animals to Australia, they cook it, they eat it, they hand it out to the rest of the community.

"We don't want to go into a supermarket and have to buy kangaroo when we can catch it culturally.

"We’re disappointed with the police, because we just think this is so petty."

The man is due to be sentenced on July 25.

According to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, aboriginal people are allowed to hunt animals but not in urban land or a town site and not within 1km of a sealed road.