General News
5 February, 2023
Letters to the editor
Ideal for breedingSir, Widespread and lasting rainfall on the east coast of Australia in 2022 has led to a sustained period of ideal breeding conditions for Australian waterbirds – and recreational duck hunters are getting ready to enjoy a bumper...
Ideal for breeding
Sir, Widespread and lasting rainfall on the east coast of Australia in 2022 has led to a sustained period of ideal breeding conditions for Australian waterbirds – and recreational duck hunters are getting ready to enjoy a bumper harvest in 2023.
Duck hunting in Victoria is an ethical and responsible way for health-conscious Australians to enjoy a naturally renewable and free-range source of meat.
The meat from harvested wild ducks is generally higher in vitamins and lower in cholesterol and sodium than chicken; and by utilising birds that live, breed, and grow in wetlands, hunters are harvesting a resource that uses land unsuitable for agriculture – thus ensuring healthy ecosystems rather than the large-scale monocultures created by crops such as soybeans.
Harvesting and utilising ducks as a meat resource can also lower the overall food mileage.
Hunters know where and when their meat was harvested, and exactly how it has been treated right up to the point it goes onto their table.
The sustainability of hunting has been proven and supported by leading wildlife scientists around the world, and Victoria’s season is tightly controlled.
If anything, the Victorian legislators can be accused of being too conservative in restricting hunting times and daily harvest limits on hunters. Native ducks can be harvested in Victoria only by appropriately licensed individuals, and only during the recreational duck season (legislated to run from March to June). Victorian legislation enshrines that hunters must make all endeavours to recover all ducks that they hunt – and that at least the breast meat is harvested. So not only do hunters eat what they harvest – they are legislatively required to do so.
Victorian hunters are awaiting the announcement of any seasonal restrictions, but with positive announcements made in both Tasmania and South Australia in recent weeks, the pressure is on the legislators to announce the season soon.
This will allow hunters time to make plans to get into regional and remote Victorian communities, and not only get their harvest – but put vital dollars back into those communities.
The Victorian Department of Jobs, Precints and Regions’ June 2020 report Economic contribution of recreational hunting in Victoria found that the gross contribution to Gross State Product from recreational hunting by game licence holders in Victoria in 2019 was $356 million.
More specifically, the gross contribution from duck hunting was $65 million, and from quail hunting the tally was $22 million.
Considering the impacts of widespread flooding on Victorian communities and businesses in 2022, such an injection of cash in 2023 would surely be welcomed.
Lucas Cooke
CEO
Field and Game Australia
Yes to a duck season
Sir, Tell the same lie often enough and it will be believed. Those opposing a duck season claim duck numbers are low, after two consecutive La Ninas! (Loddon Herald, January 19).
Drive in the country and see for yourself, there is water everywhere and ducks. The official survey flies over\ set lines on the East coast and this year the birds are dispersed away from those lines and still breeding. Believe your own eyes!
Duck numbers will fall, when the water recedes over the next year, and they can either be dead in the wetlands, or hunter’s freezers, as simple as that.
There is little better that seeing the sun rise over a wetland, calling in ducks from afar (no it’s not as simple as just blowing a caller), taking a carefully measured shot and seeing your trained dog joyfully swim out and make the retrieve.
For those who have never tried roasted wild duck with a sublime sauce, then perhaps I can understand why you do not see the point.
Bill Paterson
Glen Waverley
Send your letters to the editor to loddonherald@gmail.com
Letters must include address and phone number for verification.