A wildlife carer says she was sickened and horrified after discovering a dead kangaroo tied to a chair on the banks of the Murray River on the Australia Day long weekend.

The dead animal was found just 50 metres from a busy campsite at Dead River Beach, near Cobram, on the Victoria-New South Wales border.

Wildlife carer Kylee Donkers, from Koonoomoo, was called to the scene by a distressed woman who found the animal.

"It was horrific. It was sickening," she said.

"It was probably the most un-Australian thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

Geoff McClure from the Department of Primary Industries says kangaroos are protected under the wildlife act.

"It would have been very easily viewed by anyone going up and down the river," he said.

"It certainly shows no consideration for other people's feelings and sensitivities."