By Alesha Capone
MORE than 160 animals have died on Brimbank’s roads across eight months of this year.
From January to August 2012, Brimbank City Council’s Road and Cleansing Services collected about 165 dead animals from around the municipality.
The council’s general manager of infrastructure and environment, Paul Younis, said the service removed dead domestic animals from council-owned and managed properties.
He said the majority of deaths were caused after animals were hit by a vehicle, and pets topped the list of creatures most commonly killed on Brimbank’s roads.
“This year, cats have been the most regularly collected species of animal followed by dogs, birds, one sheep and three kangaroos,” Mr Younis said.
“Please note that council runs a cat trapping program, where we provide traps to catch feral and unwanted cats.
“However, the animals collected by our Road and Cleansing Services unit usually appear to have been hit by a vehicle.
“The Road and Cleansing Services unit usually visits built-up areas in Brimbank such as St Albans, Sunshine and Keilor Downs to collect animals that have died after being hit by a vehicle.”
Mr Younis said Brimbank residents could contact the council’s customer service officers to report a dead animal, which needed to be collected from a council-owned or managed property on 9249 4000.
The State Government supports a Wildlife Rescue hotline on 1300 094 535.