Adelaide Hills Kangaroo Rescue

02/09/2026

The day this photo was taken was the last time this joey saw his Mum.

She was shot in the neck by a commercial kangaroo shooter in the outskirts of Sydney.

Under the very rules the NSW Government is trying to lock in for another five years, the shooter ‘should’ have killed him too.

Instead, they left this traumatised orphan in his dying Mum’s pouch, until he was found the next day by volunteer wildlife carers.

Named Fitzy, he is now safe. But his fate is rare — most joeys across the state will not survive an encounter with a commercial kangaroo shooter, which is why they desperately need our voice.

Each year, the New South Wales state government strips protection from over half a million kangaroos so they can be killed and sold by the commercial industry.

This figure doesn’t even include joeys. They are merely the collateral damage that the government and industry prefer the caring community like us didn’t know about.

Right now, they’re seeking approval from the Commonwealth government for five more years of killing through their draft ‘Wildlife Trade Management Plan’, and they are asking for public feedback as part of the process.

If you care about wildlife, It’s critical that the government hears from you in the coming days.

We have created a submission guide to help make the process as quick and easy as possible. Please join us in adding your voice now: https://animalsaus.co/4yav7wd

30/08/2026

Gracie & Otto❤️

As our hearts continue to heal from the loss of Darla, two little souls arrive to remind us why do what we do.

Introducing, Gracie and Otto. Gracie (Grey/red colouring), a Red kangaroo, came to us from the Flinders Ranges. She is such a character at only 2kg! It took less than 24 hours for Gracie to settle into her new home, calling for attention and cuddles - who could resist? It has been quite some time since we took a red joey into care. Our last, being JoJo the 20kg injured surrender. My heart wasn't quite ready to take in another small red since the loss of Borris & Debby. Gracie reminds me every day that opening my heart again was the best choice.

Otto (Brown/grey colouring) is a special little man. We received a call from Mount Barker Veterinary Clinic where they informed us that Dr Nina had stopped to check a deceased female kangaroo in Meadows and found him inside her pouch, awaiting certain death without intervention. Dr Nina saved his life and he shows us how grateful he is every single day, with cuddles of course. He really knows how to assure plenty of time is wasted throughout the day, because once he settles in for a snuggle - you are done for!

An unlikely duo, a Western Grey and a Red Kangaroo but one that many rescuers see during their time. They play together and despite their colouring, you would have no idea they were different species of kangaroo. We are excited to see them grow together and experience a life filled with love, happiness and safety that all kangaroos deserve.

Enjoy 50 seconds of peace with these two new sweet angels 🩷🦘

29/07/2026

Have you seen this film yet?

An incredible documentary that has changed the views of people across the world, resulting in multiple companies refusing to use Kangaroo leather for their products.

Take the time to watch and learn about our incredible kangaroos ❤️🦘

An acclaimed examination of Australia’s complex relationship with its iconic kangaroo species, which is subject to shocking wildlife slaughter.

17/07/2026

Our girl Darla.

It was a long week to find the answer to why Darla was so unwell. X-rays, every test under the sun. A CT scan by an experienced, caring Orthopaedic surgeon who we have worked with many times before showed a severe break in the C1 vertebrae. Although not severing her spinal cord, which allowed some mobility, it wasn’t a break that any surgery could fix, no plates or screws could bring her back.

I am so grateful for all of the love and positive thoughts sent to her. Although she is no longer here with us, I truly believe the love and hope got us the answers to make the best decision by her.

From the happiest, most loving, brightest girl, to being in such despair was heartbreaking to see. These things aren’t uncommon but you always hope it won’t happen. It’s an unfortunate event that couldn’t have been prevented.

We are grieving deeply in this loss. Bambi is still searching for where her sister is, but luckily she has other joeys to keep her company and help her through this process. They are there for her and so are we.

Thank you for the support as always and we will remember all the happy times we had with Darla. We were so blessed to have her in our lives.

Back to the earth my love, back with your mum ❤️💔

05/07/2026

Darla 🌻

We are introducing you to Darla under some emotional and concerning times ❤️‍🩹

Darla came into care shortly after our Bambi girl arrived. Bambi had settled in without a hitch into her new family, but her heart was really healed when Darla arrived.

Our first thought was to move Darla, being a healthy Joey, onto another carer as we had agreed to only keep the critical bubbas in care
However, after a very brief introduction to Bambi, they were besotted with eachother. They had made the decision for us and Darla was to stay with us and continue to grow and thrive with her new sister.

Sadly, months later - without any warning, Darla has become severely unwell. We found her yesterday morning unable to stand and having generalised weakness across all limbs. She was still alert, responsive and more than willing to have her bottle and snacks - she just can not use her arms or legs, despite having feeling and responsiveness.

Within a couple of hours we were at the Vets to see Aunty Helene for diagnostics. Extensive X-rays showed no breaks or fractures. An initial blood test showed no concerning signs. Currently, the only thing we can assume is a neurological issue. However, once Monday comes and we are able to have more bloods sent away for testing, we hopefully will have more answers.

In the meanwhile, she is in no pain, being appropriately medicated treating the symptoms as best as possible. She is still enjoying her bottles and having Bambi come in to visit her for cuddles ❤️

We aren’t asking for any donations for her medical treatments because we have been incredibly lucky to have those costs covered by LAV - a support that has saved us many sleepless nights.

What we ask from you is to keep Darla in your thoughts, sending as much positive healing energy as you can. She really is in a scary place and we are doing everything in our power alongside a wonderful vet team to pull her through.

Come on my Darla girl, fight fight fight ❤️

20/06/2026

This week we had a visit from Erin Thompson MP. It was a lovely opportunity to have a chat about our work, and Meadow 'hopped' right in for cuddles!

Well… this was a first. 😂

Mid-meeting with one of our state’s incredible wildlife rescuers, this little roo hopped straight into my lap and made himself comfortable.

I’ve had plenty of interesting meetings over the years, but this might be the first time a constituent literally jumped into my lap for a cuddle.

Just another day with the amazing wildlife rescuers who dedicate their lives (and living rooms) to giving native animals a second chance.

Thanks for the chat and cuddles Adelaide Hills Kangaroo Rescue

12/06/2026

🌹🌹Juliette's Story 🌹🌹
A couple of years ago a lovely man (and bird rescuer!) was driving near Kuitpo Forest when he came across a western grey kangaroo that had been hit by a car. He pulled over and checked her pouch, and that is how he found Juliette.

Her mum didn't make it, but Juju, as she came to be known, did. She came into care with Adelaide Hills Kangaroo Rescue and was hand-raised from there.
When she was a bit younger Juju had an accident in the joey run and fractured her arm. She had surgery and recovered well. Juju, in her usual spirit, never skipped a beat.

Juju stayed in care with AHKR until she was weaned. Under South Australian law, hand-raised joeys cannott be released back to the wild, so once she was ready she moved on to her volunteer-run safe sanctuary home, along with her lifelong love, Bruce.

We wanted to share Juju's story because of where it ended up. At a sanctuary.
For joeys like Juju there is nowhere safe to release them in South Australia. A good sanctuary is the difference between one of these joeys having a life or not having one at all. That is why we work so hard to support all sanctuaries, from Eyre Peninsula, to the South East, and the Murraylands, as well as kangaroo rescuers and carers.

When one sanctuary is doing better, everyone is. It lifts capacity, it takes some pressure off the people running them, and it builds a bit of community between volunteers who are mostly doing this on the smell of an oily rag. That matters for their mental health too.

It's the whole village that keeps a joey like Juju alive. The pinky carers, the rescuers patching up fence-hanger joeys, the pouch checkers, and the sanctuaries that give them somewhere to land. Every part matters. It's all of it working together that means a joey like Juju gets to grow up, get well, and end up somewhere safe with some-roo like Bruce. 🫶

12/06/2026

08/06/2026

According to the 2025 government reports one in five South Australian kangaroos disappeared in a single year. And barely anyone blinked.

2024: 5.2 million.
2025: 4.1 million.

That is over a million kangaroos. More than 20 percent of the entire state population. Gone in twelve months.

If we lost 20% of most other species in a year there would be headlines. Inquiries. Outrage.
Kangaroos? Silence.

What is scary is we have stopped noticing. Every generation grows up with fewer kangaroos than the last and just calls it normal. We see a small mob at dusk and think the paddocks are full. Ecologist Ray Mjadwesch has spent years studying this. He puts it bluntly. People only notice kangaroos where they are. They don't notice where they're not.

Meanwhile the commercial quotas keep getting handed out like nothing has changed and over $1m in taxpayer funds spent to kill more in the last 12 months.

One in five. Gone.

📸 Julie Thompson

04/06/2026

🌼🌼Meadow Lea🌼🌼

In September last year we got a call from a gentleman driving back to Macclesfield. He'd stopped to move a deceased kangaroo off the road - and found a tiny joey alive in the pouch. He drove straight to us.

This was Meadow (aka Miss Meadow Lea). ❤️

She came in to our care at around 2kg, blind, with blood from a torn ear. Over the next day or so it became clear her leg wasn't right either. We took her in to see Dr Tina at Barker Veterinary Clinic who x-rayed her and confirmed a fracture. She splinted it carefully and advised us to give Meadow Lea some time to see if her sight would come back.

About ten days later, it did!

Her leg healed beautifully, and that little notch in her ear is still there - you can spot it in the last photo - but it doesn't bother her at all.

From the very beginning, this girl was a cuddlebug. She'd snuggle in and fall asleep looking like she was smiling. (Picture 2 is proof. 😊)

Meadow Lea won't be going back to the wild - she'll move on to a volunteer-run safe sanctuary when she's ready, where she'll live out her life with the love and care she deserves.

We think Meadow Lea's mum was part of a small family group that lived just outside of town - a little mob of five or six that many locals knew well. When the property was sold and new fencing went up through their paddock, several kangaroos were killed on the nearby roads over the following weeks. Her mum was one of them.

Meadow Lea lost everything she knew that night but she also found her way to us and we wanted to give her every chance to have a happy healthy life.

Meadow's treatment was made possible by the generous financial contribution of LAV . 🫶