The men, from Clunes, Miners Rest and Creswick, were driving on Golf Course Rd in a ute at about 8.30pm when the shooter leaned out the window and shot the kangaroo.

A resident who heard the shot confronted the men and called the police.

Leading senior constable Athol Chaffey said the shooter had a licence for the firearm and had been charged with shooting on private property without permission and shooting from a vehicle.

"Because there are houses tucked away in the forest there, using firearms in that area is dangerous anyway," he said.

"We take these matters very seriously."

Snr Const Chaffey said 99 per cent of people with registered firearms did the right thing.

Senior wildlife officer Jim O'Brien of the Department of Sustainability and Environment said illegal shooting of wildlife was on the rise in Victoria.

"There are certainly large numbers of kangaroos around at the moment so it could be that there's more opportunity," he said.

"We had a koala and a possum last year, and we've had a few kangaroos turning up that have been shot.

"They're all protected wildlife and there are sizeable penalties that go with breaches of that legislation."

He urged the public to report any incidents involving native animals by phoning the DSE on 136 186 or by alerting their local police.