In the past two weeks, police estimate they have been called to put down up to 10 animals that had been struck cars.

“We are asking people to just slow down a bit and take care when passing areas with a high volume of animals looking for fresh feed,” a police spokesperson said.

“In the past couple of weeks we have been called to an increasing number of incidents where a car has struck an animal – mainly kangaroos – and have driven off, leaving the animal behind.

“Some of these incidents have needed police to intervene for the animal’s welfare and that isn’t something we really want to do too often, especially in residential areas.”

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The spokesperson said areas with fresh grass were popular with wildlife looking for food during the region’s drought conditions.

“It would be fair to say the drought is the major reason these animals are along the roadsides,” the spokesperson said.

“At the moment we are seeing a lot of them around the Gunnedah Golf Course and in people’s front yards.

“The proximity to houses is a concern and is a direct result of the drought conditions, so we are asking people to just slow down, take a bit of care and hopefully there won't be too many incidents where an animal needs to be put down.”