Wildlife carers in New South Wales are having to keep the release of rehabilitated kangaroos secret to avoid the animals being shot.

As the drought brings native and domestic animals' needs into direct conflict, the already difficult task wildlife carers face is getting harder.

The current attitude towards kangaroos as pests or competitors for livestock feed means their welfare is being increasingly disregarded.

Reports have recently surfaced of four-wheel-drive vehicles leaving roads and mowing down kangaroos in residential Cowra.

"It's really hard, especially for eastern grey kangaroos," carer Sarah Stewart (not her real name) said.

"Trying to find a release site where they can be safe away from cars, people and shooters is really quite scarce."

Low number of carers struggling with influx of kangaroos

NSW WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation carer numbers are also critically low.

Rachael Walker is one of two macropod — or kangaroo — carers in the Lachlan Weddin region, and is battling an influx of kangaroos requiring care.

She is not sure she can provide it.

"We are definitely increasing in numbers at the moment with our baby wildlife, in particular the macropods," Ms Walker said.

Babies are being abandoned by their mothers because of the drought. ( Supplied )

"Babies are being abandoned due to the drought because the mothers have been unable to upkeep themselves to then be able to provide for their young ones.

"Those animals also make their way to the roadside in search of that extra feed."

Condensation runs off road surfaces and onto grass, making for a greener pick along roads, luring hungry kangaroos.

Animals are hit during dawn and dusk high traffic times, as kangaroos are crepuscular (active in twilight) feeders.

"I'm an authorized shooter for WIRES," Ms Stewart said.

"Some of the injuries that we have seen in this drought from car accidents on these macropods are horrific.

"Some of them are lying there for some time before you get a call."

Ms Stewart requested anonymity because native animal carers could encounter resistance in rural communities where farming was predominant.

A kangaroo lies dead after being mown down while grazing on public land. ( Supplied )

How much do they eat?

John Daly, a prime lamb farmer in the state's central-west, offers his property as a release site, making him an unusual figure in the current landscape.

A mob of 40 kangaroos calls his property home.

"It's such a complicated subject. We have this really bizarre cognitive dissonance," he said.

"We have [kangaroos] as our national emblem, yet we hate them being in our space."

As an environmental scientist, Mr Daly's approach to kangaroos has been methodical rather than emotional.

Prime lambs share John Daly's property with a mob of kangaroos. ( Supplied: John Daly )

Noticing a huge discrepancy in the amount of pasture kangaroos were accused of eating, Mr Daly looked into it.

Farmers measure pasture impact in a unit known as DSEs.

It stands for Dry Sheep Equivalent and uses a 50kg whether as the baseline for standard pasture consumption, with a 50kg whether being one DSE.

"There were some studies done in Queensland on red kangaroo populations," Mr Daly said.

"Red kangaroos are much bigger than the eastern greys that we have.

"Looking at their metabolic rate and observations of their eating habits, they worked out something that was between 0.15–0.3 DSE, depending on the size of the animals.

"On the lower end, that's about six or so kangaroos to one sheep."

Mr Daly said the calculation depended on the pasture type, and the age, sex and size of the animal, "but basically, it's a lot less than a sheep".

He grows native grasses on his property, in part to restore soil microbiology, and it has allowed him to observe kangaroo grazing habits at close range.

"Their grazing habits are very different to sheep," Mr Daly said.

"I won't say they won't eat high-protein, high-quality crops like lucerne, because they will definitely have a nibble, but they tend to prefer the tougher, woodier native grasses and things that are considered weeds to most people."

Plague could be perception rather than fact

Climate pressure is changing kangaroo behaviour, forcing them into larger mobs to share fewer food resources.

This means reports of kangaroos being in plague proportions could be more perceived than real.

University of New South Wales Centre for Ecosystem Science director Richard Kingsford is leading a team tracking the impact of this drought on native species.

"People really notice large numbers of kangaroos because essentially, they are moving across the landscape looking for any food they can," he said.

"Whereas in wet years, they are probably spread out over larger areas.

"So the numbers in themselves might not be any higher but the density, where there's a bit of green grass growing, might be much higher."

Professor Kingsford said the centre was monitoring the north-west of the state and had seen 70–80 per cent deaths of kangaroos.

"These droughts are really tough on our native animals," he said.

Droughts are tough on native animals, Dr Kingsford, as shown by this starving kangaroo in western Queensland in 2015. ( Supplied: Tracey Walker )

Risky hunting practices

In response to alleged plague proportions, kangaroo culling legislation has been relaxed.

But untrained culling practices can contribute to population numbers rather than curtailing them, as seen in previous Canberra culling trials.

Unskilled hunters will usually pick off the largest kangaroos because they are an easy target or thought to have the most meat.

But these kangaroos are the alpha males — mob bosses who control breeding by only allowing their own gene pool to triumph.

When hunters take out alpha males, they leave beta and gamma males to breed, creating a mating free-for-all.

Balance not a pipe dream

The cautionary tale of the passenger pigeon draws parallels.

Once the most abundant birds in North America, the pigeon was hunted to extinction in just 100 years.

Mr Daly grows native grasses on his property, which attracts kangaroos. ( Supplied: John Daly )

"The solution is not get rid of all kangaroos or get rid of all sheep or all cattle," Mr Daly said.

"It is to find a balance and a way of managing the land that benefits all.

"I think it is possible. It's not a pipe dream but it requires people working towards it and not getting hung up on prejudices and a conservative attitude to farming."

On the ground, wildlife carers call for compassion and humanity.

"You can't not give something care or put it out of its misery because there's a hundred of them," Ms Stewart said.

"It's still an animal."