Hunters brought in for bushfire cull

Sporting hunters are helping distraught and exhausted wildlife rangers euthanise badly burnt animals in Victoria’s bushfire zone.

Members of the Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia have destroyed more than 100 animals, including kangaroos, wallabies and wombats, in the past two weeks in an unusual pairing between gun enthusiasts and animal lovers.

"It's an interesting arrangement because traditionally we have some pretty major philosophical differences," the SSAA's Colin Wood said.

"Some of these Wildlife Victoria ladies are not that well equipped to handle it emotionally. We can do it as painlessly and humanely as possible."

Working in pairs, the shooters have been searching the scorched grounds between Kinglake and Whittlesea with a Wildlife Victoria officer who has the grim task of deciding which animals will be shot.

If the officer decides the animal is too injured to capture and treat, the hunters are instructed to kill the creature with a 223 or 308 rifle.

"It's not a very pleasant task, it's a thankless task, but it has to be done," SSAA Victoria President Bob Cooper said.

In the immediate aftermath of Black Saturday, some police officers were reportedly using their pistols to finish off injured wildlife in dire attempts to put them out of their misery.

"The police shouldn't have to do it, it's not their job and they are not equipped to euthanise the likes of a kangaroo," Mr Cooper said.

"You're trying to do it in the quickest, most humane way, and when you need to do it from up to 80m to avoid spooking the animal and causing it further pain you need a more suitable firearm."

Wildlife Victoria is thankful for the rare alliance with hunters in the wake of such a tragedy.

"When animals are suffering we need to act quickly rather than have slowly die over the next six to eight weeks, and that's why [the SSAA has] proven so helpful," Wildlife Victoria volunteer Narelle Smith said.

"No matter what background you're coming from, everyone that's witnessed these poor animals is quite affected," she said.

"It's quite distressing when you come across a mother and baby who are both badly burnt and you have to make the decision to end their life."

But despite volunteering their services, members of the SSAA have encountered some skepticism of their actions.

"I had someone say to me 'This is a little ghoulish, you're taking advantage of this [for sport]'," Mr Cooper said.

"I was stunned — I said 'Would you like to come out with me and put down a wounded kangaroo?'. They replied 'Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that'.

"Some people think we're doing it for the wrong reasons — it's so disappointing."