A wildlife consultant has called for a radical new plan to cull kangaroos along Melbourne's urban fringe before there is any more housing development.

The areas kangaroos used to roam free have now been surrounded by fences, roads and houses as Melbourne expands northwards, causing problems for residents and wildlife.

Kangaroos have been found trapped inside factories, on rooftops and in school yards.

Wildlife Victoria has received about 6,500 emergency calls about kangaroos this year, double the number they received three years ago.

"It's getting to crisis point," spokeswoman Amy Amato said.

"It's definitely not an increase in the number of kangaroos in Melbourne, we're just seeing the number of incidents in human conflict with kangaroos rising."

Victoria's Department of Environment hopes to come up with a plan to manage urban kangaroos.

It has engaged independent wildlife management consultant Ian Temby to review the situation.

He believes the solution is to kill the kangaroos before development goes ahead, arguing kangaroos are being slowly culled by cars anyway.

Sorry, this video has expired A kangaroo is seen on a roof in Melbourne

"I think kangaroos should be culled from the outset when these developments are being planned so that we don't have these terrible animal welfare consequences of not doing anything about the kangaroos," he said.

Mr Temby, who will soon deliver his recommendations to the Department of Environment, said that eastern grey kangaroos were overly abundant in many areas and it was irresponsible to build houses over bushland without culling them.

"I don't think there's any sound argument for not doing it, apart from the reluctance to be seen to be killing attractive animals. But we can't relocate them," he said.

However, Wildlife Victoria wants more resources to deal with the growing problem and does not support a cull.

"Culling is not the answer. It certainly may end up being part of the solution but it's certainly not the answer and there are a lot easier solutions to the problem," Ms Amato said.

The Department of Environment's Bryan Welch said as development continued in Melbourne's growth areas, it was an issue that was not going to go away.

"I think at the moment it's kind of a bit of an ad hoc response. So what we're trying to do is clearly identify the responsibilities of the partners," he said.

'Solution is better planning'

Volunteer wildlife rescuer Sharon Bonnici has been searching for a kangaroo in a backyard at Yarrambat, in Melbourne's outskirts.

She wanted to shoot it with a tranquiliser gun to check that it was OK.

Volunteer wildlife rescuer Sharon Bonnici searches for kangaroos on Melbourne's urban fringe. ( ABC NEWS )

The kangaroo she had in her sights was chased into a dam by dogs, but seemed uninjured. Others have not been as lucky.

"I've had to euthanase two kangaroos already," she said.

"One was a call from the Craigieburn police out in Somerton and then just travelling home I found another one on the side of the road that had been hit overnight and just left."

Ms Bonnici said the solution was better planning.

"I wish governments would do more and councils would do more in their planning to have fences where kangaroos and wildlife can move through," she said.

She does not believe in culls.

"Culling is the band aid approach to it. There's a core issue with how we manage our wildlife and culls aren't the answer, absolutely not," she said.

She said anyone who sees a trapped or injured kangaroo should phone their local wildlife rescue service.