Advocacy update - What happened to a ban on duck hunting?
At the time of our last supporter newsletter, Wildlife Victoria was optimistically anticipating the end of duck hunting in Victoria. The Labor Government had conducted a Parliamentary Inquiry into Recreational Native Bird Hunting and the Select Committee had handed down its findings in August 2023.
The key recommendation of the Inquiry was to ban native bird hunting on all public and private land from 2024.
Alongside other wildlife supporters, we were confident that the Labor Government would accept the recommendations from its own Parliamentary Inquiry and ban duck hunting once and for all.
We were devastated in January when the Labor Government announced its decision to allow for the continuation of this cruel and unnecessary “sport”.
But this won’t stop us from fighting for the protection of our native species and for an end to duck and quail hunting in Victoria.
Wildlife Victoria will once again be deploying veterinary triage units into Victorian wetlands during the opening week of the 2024 duck shooting season. Wildlife Victoria’s role in field is to provide veterinary care for injured waterbirds and to collect and document veterinary evidence of shooter cruelty and misconduct.
During last year’s opening week, Wildlife Victoria’s veterinary team assessed 73 individual waterbirds left injured or deceased in field by hunters – eight of these were identified as threatened species and six were non-game species. These figures highlight shooters’ inability or unwillingness to identify species and demonstrates the inherent risk this poses to the survival of native bird species.
All evidence collected during our in field operations are shared with the regulatory bodies for duck hunting in Victoria and key government stakeholders.
How can I help?
Contact your MP
The number of supporters who made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry was extraordinary – the Committee received over 10,000 individual submissions making it the largest response to a Parliamentary Inquiry in Victoria to date. Thank you to everyone who contributed or who contacted their MP to voice their support for a ban.
It’s imperative we keep this pressure on our elected officials. You can write to the Environment Minister, the Hon. Steve Dimopoulos steve.dimopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au, and your local MP to voice your support for a ban. Head to the Parliament of Victoria website to find details of your local representative https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/member-search.
Make a donation
If you would like to support our in field veterinary operation, please consider making a donation to our Emergency Duck Triage Appeal. All donations go towards funding our in field team of veterinarians, vet nurses, support staff, veterinary equipment and supplies. Wildlifevictoria.org.au/actnow
Wear your support
Wear your heart on your sleeve and help to protect our ducks with the new Wildlife Victoria t-shirt. Designed by local Melbourne/naarm-based artist Hana Brenecki, the design features three of our native duck species in a beautiful retro design alongside the call for action 'protect our ducks'. The design is now available to purchase from our online store with all proceeds going towards funding our veterinary triage unit in field for the opening week of duck hunting.
