General News
14 June, 2024
Activists claim protester hurt at Lake Boort
ANTI-DUCK shooting activists have claimed hunters damaged Aboriginal scar trees and protesters were handcuffed on the final weekend of the season at Lake Boort. Long-time advocate against the duck hunting season Laurie Levy made the claims a day...
ANTI-DUCK shooting activists have claimed hunters damaged Aboriginal scar trees and protesters were handcuffed on the final weekend of the season at Lake Boort.
Long-time advocate against the duck hunting season Laurie Levy made the claims a day after the 2024 season ended last Wednesday.
Police confirmed they were investigating a report of an assault in Boort on June 2.
Game Management Authority said a person had been fined for illegally cutting down a tree at Lake Boort and it was supporting police investigating the assault claim.
Mr Levy said: “Duck shooters illegally cut down and burnt important heritage scar trees at Lake Boort but on the final weekend angry compliance officers focused on handcuffing two duck rescuers to stop them from helping our native waterbirds.
“And heavy-handed compliance officers forced a 65-year-old female rescuer to the ground, which caused injuries to her arm and leg. She sought help at the Boort medical centre before going to the Kerang police station to lay charges of assault against the GMA officers.”
According to Mr Levy, the season saw 130 compliance officers patrolling wetland compared with 20 in other years.
Mr Levy said: “This army of officers wasn’t to monitor the shooters. It was to put pressure on the volunteer rescue team to protect the interests of the government’s dwindling number of duck shooting clients, who make up only 0.2 per cent of Victoria’s population. Most rescuers were hit with banning notices and slapped with fines of over a thousand dollars each, simply for wanting to help protect Victoria’s sentient native waterbirds.
“Unfortunately, Premier Allan lacks any empathy whatsoever for Australia’s sentient native waterbirds. She is also totally out of step with public opinion and out of step with Labor’s Parliamentary Inquiry that called for duck shooting to be banned.”
Mr Levy claimed the 2024 duck hunting season had been a fizzer, at odds with Boort businesses. Hardware store owner George Tallis last week told the Loddon Herald that the season had given businesses a boost and Loddon Shire’s Boort Ward councillor Neil Beattie earlier told a council meeting the season had been good for Boort.