Duck shooting: cruel and dangerous for Australian wildlife.

For as long as some state governments permit the senseless ‘recreational’ slaughter of ducks, these sensitive native animals will be forced to endure shattered bills, fractured limbs, punctured organs, and ducklings will be left without parents.

Duck shooting was banned in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland in the 90s and early 2000s on animal cruelty and environmental protection grounds. The rest of Australia is years behind. Each year, hundreds of thousands of ducks are killed or left injured on the wetlands they call home across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

The days are numbered for this cruel ‘recreational’ activity, but while state governments stall on making the obvious, and kindest, decision, wildlife is paying the ultimate price.

In Victoria, the outcome of the recent inquiry into native bird hunting was the recommendation to end it – but the Victorian Labor Government went against this key recommendation and is allowing the slaughter to continue. The South Australian Government also looks set to green-light the continued ‘recreational hunting’ of native birds following its inquiry process, where the recommendation was disappointingly for it to continue.  And in Tasmania (TAS), the state government has said it has no plans to ban this cruel and outdated ‘sport’.

A ‘sport’ of suffering

When it comes to blasting sensitive animals out of the sky with hundreds of pellets, sadly those who are killed instantly are considered the ‘lucky’ ones.

An estimated one out of every four birds shot could suffer for minutes, hours, even days. Some may drown in the water. Some may be scooped up, but instead of being met with kindness, be injured further and eventually killed at the hands of inexperienced shooters. Others who managed to escape will eventually succumb to their injuries, or be preyed upon, unable to flee.

Shooting can also endanger or kill other animals who were never intended as ‘targets’. Birds may be incorrectly identified by shooters, or young birds may be abandoned by their parents who flee the sound of gunfire in fear.

Thousands of victims – each one a sensitive individual

Only a small percentage of the community participates in this outdated ‘sport’, but their actions still result in enormous suffering for wildlife. The ‘shooting season’ length and ‘bag limits’ (kill quotas) means birds can suffer in the hundreds of thousands. Usually “protected ” ducks have their protection status lifted so that shooters can kill them between March and June.

Just last year alone, over 320,000 ducks were killed in VIC – not including those wounded and left to die on the wetlands. In Victoria (VIC), the government inconceivably announced a ‘shooting season’ from April 26 to May 30 2023, with a killing quota of four birds per day, per shooter. The state’s decision-makers already have evidence of cruelty and suffering on hand, yet they are deferring their decision to ban duck shooting to yet another bureaucratic process – the formation of a Legislative Counsel select committee to ‘examine arrangements regarding recreational native bird hunting in Victoria’. Over 9000 submissions were received, and findings and recommendations are due to be presented by 31 August 2023.

Also out of step with community expectations, the SA Government announced an open duck shooting season from March 18 to June 25 2023, with a killing quota of eight ducks per day. The RSPCA SA estimated that over the season, up to  40,000 birds would be killed and up to 10,000 injured. The ‘shooting season’ in TAS was open from March 11 to June 12 2023, with a kill quota of 10 ducks per day, per shooter. Last year, an estimated 50,000 ducks were killed in the state.

Surveys of waterbird numbers in VIC and SA make these numbers even more concerning…

According to the 2022 annual Aerial Survey of Waterbirds in Eastern Australia (which includes VIC), populations of ‘game’ species of ducks are still dire despite the record-setting rainfall. Devastatingly, 6 of 8 duck species the government usually allows to be killed for recreation were found to be in serious long-term decline. Two previous “game” species are now on Victoria’s threatened species list (Hardhead and Blue-winged Shoveler).

Duck populations in SA are also struggling – the last thing they need is to be shot for ‘fun’. The 2022 Department of Environment and Water Game Duck Abundance report shows surveyed ‘game’ duck numbers at less than 20% of their annual average of almost two decades.

Governments should not be waiting for more species to be pushed to the brink as others have – they should be protecting Australian wildlife.

The rules in place don’t help wildlife

The rural location of wetlands and the number of licenced shooters make effective monitoring impossible. No regulating body can ensure the rules are being followed by thousands of shooters spread across public game reserves and private property. And individual animals suffer greatly, as do species as a whole.

Shooters in VIC, SA and TAS must pass a Waterfowl Identification Test only once, meaning there is no obligation to refresh their knowledge of duck species before heading out to the wetlands each year. A recent survey in VIC (conducted by the state’s hunting regulator itself) revealed a shocking 80% of shooters couldn’t identify species they’re permitted to kill and those who are protected. Given the single identification test applies to all states, concern for the safety and future of ‘non-game’ species, including threatened species, is warranted.

Almost beyond comprehension the rules also permit shooting ducks 30 minutes after sunset in VIC, 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset in SA, and up to an hour before sunrise and after sunset in TAS. The future of some duck species is reliant on a shooter’s ability to identify species at dawn and dusk when there’s barely any sunlight.

There is no requirement to undertake any training or prove any competency in killing injured birds ‘humanely’ in order to obtain a shooting licence. In the aforementioned shooter survey in VIC, 84% didn’t know how to kill ducks they had shot and injured. With no competency test in place, the fragile bodies of sensitive ducks are literally in the hands of potentially inexperienced shooters who are out to kill them ‘for sport’.

Video evidence of cruelty was captured by volunteers on just one of the thousands of Victoria’s wetlands, raising questions as to how much illegal behaviour is going unchecked on wetlands across duck shooting states – and how much wildlife suffering is going unseen.

The rules aren’t protecting the environment either

It was recently revealed that lead ammunition is still being used by some shooters, despite being banned for two decades in VIC – yet another example of the rules in place failing to protect animals and the environment. After causing an excruciating death for birds who are shot and escape, lead remains in the environment for years, posing a threat to protected animals like wedge-tailed eagles and scavenging wildlife. The high levels of lead found in ducks at four Victorian waterways indicated a potential risk to human health too, with levels “well above” food safety standards.

A ban would be in line with community expectations

More than 30 years have passed since duck shooting was first banned in an Australian state (WA). And the overwhelming majority in the remaining ‘duck shooting’ states – VIC, SA and TAS – want to see this senseless killing finally put to an end.

A recent RSPCA survey found 9 out of 10 Victorians would never shoot a duck. According to the RSPCA SA, more than 7 out of 10 South Australians want to see an end to duck and quail shooting (South Australian ReachTEL poll, March 2020).

In contrast, duck shooters represent less than one per cent of the community in SA. And in TAS, according to Eric Woehler from BirdLife Tasmania, the number of duck shooters represents a similarly low percentage of the community – “about 0.2 per cent…clearly the other 99.8 per cent of the population aren’t necessarily supportive of that way of life.”

It is well overdue for VIC, SA and TAS to choose kindness, and make Australia safer for ducks and other native wildlife.

Take a stand for ducks and other wildlife

• Victorian residents: Call on the Victorian Government to end duck shooting in the state with a polite but urgent letter here.
• South Australian residents: Urge the South Australian Government to end duck shooting here.
• Tasmanian residents: Please send a polite but urgent email to the Premier of Tasmania Jeremy Rockliff at this address jeremy.rockliff@parliament.tas.gov.au

Live outside of Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania?

• To help waterbirds in Victoria, you can email the Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan at this address jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au
• To help waterbirds in South Australia, email the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas at this address Premier@sa.gov.au
• For Tasmanian waterbirds, please send a polite but urgent email to the Premier of Tasmania Jeremy Rockliff at this address jeremy.rockliff@parliament.tas.gov.au

See what this ‘recreational activity’ looks like for Australian waterbirds

The below footage was captured in the opening days of 2022’s ‘duck shooting season’ in Victoria – but duck shooting looks the same wherever it occurs.

So long as state governments permit the shooting of precious wildlife to go on, they are allowing this treatment of Australian animals to continue.