MELBOURNE, June 28 (Xinhua) -- A kangaroo has been shot dead and chained to a chair on the side of the road in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne on Wednesday in a "appalling and shocking" act.
The marsupial was found dressed in a shawl with a bottle of alcohol taped to its arm on the side of a main road in Melbourne's northeastern suburbs.
Mike Sverns, a senior investigator with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, said the animal had been shot at least three times before being put on the chair.
Sverns released a graphic picture of the kangaroo in the hope that more witnesses would come forward.
"It would have taken some time to stage the kangaroo in that position on the side of the road and we are certain that someone would have seen something, given the public area and traffic flow of this main road," Sverns told Australian media on Wednesday.
"This is appalling and immoral behavior and we are urging anyone with information to come forward."
The kangaroo was reported by a woman who spotted it next to the road on her way to work.
The animal had not started to decompose by the time it was moved suggesting it was killed only a few hours before being discovered.
Sverns said he believes the perpetrators would have spent at least half an hour setting up the display.
If caught and found guilty of killing protected wildlife, the offenders face up to two years imprisonment and fines of up to 27.690 U.S. dollars.
Sverns said cruelty to iconic Australian wildlife was not an uncommon occurrence.
"We're seeing an ongoing trend where people are directing misconduct towards native animals, for some reason," he said.
