Amateur protest photographers and LiveNews.com.au have captured exclusive vision of a young kangaroo recovering from anesthesia, during the Canberra kangaroo cull.
A section of the former defence site has been cordoned off for experimenting on the affects of the drug on the animals, with hession blankets and "Keep away" signs to deter spectators.
After the anesthesia is applied, the kangaroos are gagged and their heads are covered in special bags.
Defence and the RSPCA are deeming it a humane way to tranquilize the animals before they are executed, but activists are calling the treatment of the trapped animals "appallingly cruel".
A small but vocal group of ant-cull protestors have assembled at the area, but are being kept well clear by security.
But the move to cull hundreds of kangaroos from the area has been met with support from the RSPCA.
The animal protection group says killing about 400 kangaroos is the only way to deal with overpopulation.
The organisation's ACT boss, Michael Linke, says there's some concern about the tranquillising of the roos with darts before they're given a lethal injection.
But he's told ABC radio trying to move them somewhere else would also have caused tremendous stress.
Video: John Barrington