General News
7 January, 2023
Scrap duck hunt call
Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting wants this year's hunting season scrapped. The organisation wants the 2023 native duck and quail shoots to be cancelled based on alarming continued declines in the bird populations, lack of breeding...
Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting wants this year's hunting season scrapped.
The organisation wants the 2023 native duck and quail shoots to be cancelled based on alarming continued declines in the bird populations, lack of breeding despite two consecutive La Ninas, and significant adverse impacts of hunting on protected species and regional communities not yet adequately investigated by the hunting regulator.
In its 20 page submission, RVOTDS detailed examples of what its claimed were the impacts: tables obtained through Freedom of Information showing thousands of threatened species killed as collateral damage, tourism operators’ concerns for customers’ safety and economic loss, landowners’ fears for their families, of trespass and the risk spread of Foot and Mouth Disease.
"The 40th annual aerial survey, one of the largest wildlife surveys in the country and the only objective long-term dataset, has again shown game duck populations are declining, in some cases by an order of magnitude. Ninety-six percent of bird breeding was observed in Ibis, Pelican and egrets - not game ducks," it said.
"No government authority has been able to provide an estimate of the number of public waterways open to shooters or confirm whether it is closer to 8000 or 20,000. Unlike outdoor shooting ranges, the vast majority of duck shooting areas are neither signposted as shooting areas, nor monitored by any authorities. No health / safety risk assessments have ever been conducted for nearby residents or other recreational users, other than at two wetlands in Mildura in 2019 which were subsequently closed to shooting for safety reasons."