A kangaroo was found shot in the head near a pine plantation on Canning Park Road in Woodend last week. Nearby, a joey was found with its head decapitated.

Woodend resident Richard, who did not want his surname published, said his neighbours heard a series of 10 to 12 shots between 4 and 5am on July 5.

"When they went outside when it was light they found the baby kangaroo with its head cut off. Down the road they found what must have been its mother shot in the head with a rifle."

He said four-wheel-drive tyre tracks over the road suggested the animals had been chased down by a vehicle first. He said the incident had angered and distressed residents.

"My view is these people have broken at least three laws by killing native wildlife without a permit, shooting from a roadside and shooting within a proscribed distance of residential houses," he said.

"The reason why most of us move here is because of the wildlife. We all try to take care of them. It's cruel, sadistic and illegal."

Another neighbour who did not want to be named said kangaroos had become part of the family to many residents.

"Part of living here is the freedom we give the animals. They are part of the family, our dogs never touch them and they learnt to trust us."

Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network spokeswoman Fiona Corke said the Macedon Ranges community needed to work together to stamp out animal cruelty.

"Beheading a joey and shooting its mother is the lowest of lows. To do that to a defenceless animal is horrific and it's horrific there are these types of people in the community," she said.

"There's this insidious streak happening here in the shire. It's had another flare-up and everyone should be conscious and report any cruelty to native animals."

The Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network is offering a $1000 reward for information leading to prosecution and conviction under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Victorian Wildlife Act.