Media release – Animal Justice Party, 8 March, 2024
LIBERAL AND LABOR IGNORE COMMUNITY SENTIMENT ON DUCK HUNTING
With yet another duck season getting underway on Saturday morning, there is no end to the killing in sight as the major parties are intent on maintaining the status quo.
“Year after year the same charade plays out. Neither Liberal nor Labor parties are interested in stopping the killing of native ducks,” said Casey Davies, Animal Justice Party candidate for Clark.
A tiny minority of Tasmanians hunt ducks – just over 1,000 registered shooters, yet they kill more than 40,000 native ducks on average every year.
“A horrific number of ducks are killed each year,” said Karen Bevis, AJP Tasmanian State Convenor. “The vast majority of Tasmanians want duck hunting to end, so why are successive governments ignoring their constituents?”
“Animal loving community members have had enough,” said Casey Davies. “It is time we had members of parliament who truly represent their community, and legislate for compassionate change.”
Further information: AJP Policy: https://www.
Media release – Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, 8 March 2024
ANOTHER APPALLING TASMANIAN DUCK HUNTING SEASON UPON US
Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, will join the RSPCA’s call for both the Tasmanian Liberal and Labor parties to commit to a ban on duck shooting in Tasmania.
“From tomorrow, the Tasmanian duck hunting season will commence which will result in the indiscriminate killing and maiming of thousands of ducks,” Mr Wilkie said. “How anyone can take pleasure from this barbaric and cruel sport is beyond me. Indeed, there’s no way to conduct duck shooting in a humane way because there will always be a significant margin of error. Moreover there is always the risk of hunters hitting the wrong bird, including protective species, and there will always be wounded creatures dying in agony.
“New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia banned duck shooting years ago, and a recent Victorian inquiry also recommended to ban the practice. Yet there are few regulations in Tasmania and a succession of state governments have turned a blind eye while our native ducks are being gunned down.
“Alarmingly, duck shooting is still occurring in the majority of Moulting Lagoon, an internationally recognised Ramsar wetland that is known for its value as a habitat for many vulnerable species. Our native ducks in particular should have the right to live in their native habitats without the fear of being shot and killed for sport. I will raise this issue personally with Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and impress upon her the importance of the Federal Government enforcing the requirements of the Ramsar Convention.
“This slaughter has little community support and has gone on for far too long. It’s time for duck shooting to be banned. While I would like this barbaric blood sport ended immediately, both parties must come out and commit to making this the last duck shooting season in Tasmania, or at least commit to a three-year phase-out period that implements restrictions and protects the welfare of these animals.”
Media release – Animals Tasmania, 8 March 2024
Stop Killing Native Ducks!
At the 11th hour Animals Tasmania is calling on the Tasmanian Government to see sense and call off the open shooting season on native waterbirds.
“This is one of the worst indictments on current and past Governments in Tasmania,” announced Chris Simcox of Animals Tasmania,
“Legalised duck shooting is a blight on modern society. It would be a simple matter to take the lead from other states who have already banned recreational duck shooting. Yet the killing goes on in Tasmania unabated.”
“We are hopeful that the recent Parliamentary Inquiry in Victoria will add weight to the urgent need to ban the annual senseless violence against native waterbirds,” said Mr Simcox.
“Rescuers will be on the wetlands, when the shooting starts this weekend, doing their best to stop native ducks being shot. They will be there protecting native waterbirds, something the Government should act to do right now.”
Vica Bayley MP, Greens Environment spokesperson, 8 March 2024
Greens Call for Ban on Duck Hunting
On the eve of the opening of the state’s annual native duck season, the Tasmanian Greens reiterate their call for a total ban on native duck hunting.
In the 21st century, blasting native ducks out of the sky is unnecessary and cruel. There’s absolutely no justification for this annual slaughter.
Only a fraction of Tasmanians participate and each year non-target and threatened species are killed either in deliberate attacks or cases of mistaken identity. Some birds will die immediately, but so many will suffer a long and painful death.
Yet Labor and Liberal politicians keep backing in the brutality, seemingly desperate to appease the shooters’ lobby.
In the midst of a climate crisis, with this island experiencing an extremely dry summer – and more predicted in the years to come – the impact of deliberately reducing duck populations through shooting can’t be underestimated.
Duck hunting is a cruel assault on Tasmania’s clean, green and compassionate brand and should be ended for good.
From dawn tomorrow the sound of gunfire will ring out across waterways around Tasmania. Let’s make it the last time.
It’s well past time to end this needless slaughter of native birds. With a new government and the Greens in balance of power, we will fight to end duck hunting.
Media release – RSPCA, 9 March 2024
Time to take aim at the state government
The RSPCA is deeply distressed that the Tasmanian Government continues to ignore public opinion by giving the green light for another season of duck shooting.
Today, March 9th, marks the start of the 2024 duck shooting season. Shooters will each be allowed to kill 10 ducks per day, every day for twelve weeks, until June 10th.
Perhaps most shocking of all? This cruelty is inflicted upon defenceless animals in the name of a ‘sport’ that the majority of caring Tasmanians oppose.
“This is a dark day for wildlife in this state. Tasmanians should take aim at the State Government for once again allowing thousands of native birds to be shot out of the sky,” RSPCA Chief Advocate Jan Davis said.
“While many birds will be killed instantly as they flee for their lives, others will be maimed and endure a slow and painful death.”
“The RSPCA is not opposed to killing animals by methods that guarantee a quick, humane death. However, no amount of tweaking of recreational duck shooting practices can magically transform the indiscriminate shot-gunning of native birds in flight into a humane method of killing.”
In recommending that native bird hunting should end, a recent Victorian Government Inquiry described compliance monitoring as a ‘near impossible task’. Tasmania has significantly fewer regulatory resources than Victoria. This means that, in practice, there is virtually no oversight of shooters or policing of regulations and licence conditions. The fact that in the thirteen years 2010 to 2021, only 3 people were convicted on offences related to wild duck confirms this. It is therefore inevitable that incidents of non-compliance occur across the season but are not detected due to the nature of the activity and the many remote locations where it occurs.
Ms Davis said the decision to allow the duck shooting season to go ahead simply doesn’t add up.
“Our regular community sentiment survey shows that 63% of Tasmanians do not support duck shooting, with 22% of people having a neutral view – that’s 85% of people who would welcome (or at least not oppose) an end to duck shooting in this state. Only 5% of people have ever been involved in shooting ducks – and last year there were just 1044 licences issued (less than 0.2% of the population). Yet the Government is prepared to ignore widespread concerns that this is unacceptable.”
“The only way to ensure the welfare of these animals is to ban this cruel practice,” Ms Davis said.
“Whoever forms our next Government needs to listen and end the carnage. It has no place in a civilised society.”
Ted Mead
March 8, 2024 at 11:02
This is yet another insular, draconian and unsustainable activity that prevails throughout Tasmania and the mainland! In my view, the slaughter of ducks is more about sport than it is utilisation of a food source. I feel a ban on this activity is still some years away in Tasmania regardless of management authorities (PIPWE) calling for a cessation to the killing of wild birds.
In Tasmania many shooters failed to pass the Waterfowl Identification Test, and a survey in Victoria found these appalling statistics –
• 80% could not reliably distinguish between permitted species and non-target species – some of which may be endangered;
• Barely a third had any knowledge of wounding rates; and –
• Only 1 in 10 had any knowledge of how to humanely kill wounded birds.
Recognising the strong evidence of the extreme suffering imposed upon these animals, and the community’s lack of support for recreational hunting, three states in Australia (Western Australia, NSW, and Queensland) have already banned recreational duck hunting. Only 0.2% of Tasmanians are involved in duck shooting. This is hardly a social license to decimate five species of ducks, three of which mate for life.
The RSPCA and many Tasmanians have been calling for an end to duck shooting for years, but successive governments continue to dismiss their cries!
Hopefully someone in a future minority government will move a bill in parliament to end this inane activity!
Adrian
March 8, 2024 at 11:43
How naïve are some people!
NSW culls ducks in their thousands under permits, thereby protecting crops. It doesn’t matter how many participate in duck hunting, a majority or a minority, let’s be be discriminatory. “You do you, and I will do me”.
Duck hunting is heavily regulated, and it’s a safe, sustainable and responsible outdoor activity. It plays an important and crucial role in wildlife conservation, and it helps the $150m duck hunting regional economy. It aids farmers and it avoids any requirement for horrifically cruel poison. Duck meat is also delicious and harvesting your own rather than paying supermarket prices is a win/win.
The comment by Ted is incorrect. If hunters fail their Waterfowl Identification Test they can’t obtain a duck permit, and that’s pure and simple. A hunter must pass a WIT to become a duck hunter.
Ted Mead
March 8, 2024 at 14:49
Please correct me if I am wrong …
The way I read the Waterfowl Identity Test is that you only have to get a score of 47 in Tasmania, where in other states it has to be 66. This means that an applicant in Tasmania may fail to identify any protected and/or threatened waterfowl indicated in the test. This sounds like a compromising and lame examination criteria to appease the low-IQ trigger happy!
Where has that fantasy figure of $150 million contribution to the regional economy come from? It sounds like more Liberal spin and deception!
If there are about 1,150 permits handed out, then each of those permit holders are contributing about $13,500 so it’s completely implausible to think that anyone would spend that to get a few ducks.
Chief Editor TT
March 8, 2024 at 16:21
Since your comment the RSPCA has issued a statement which we have added to the post. They say there were 1,044 permits last year.
I guess slavery was good for the regional economy too :-/
Ted Mead
March 8, 2024 at 16:44
Yes. I didn’t quote the correct number of permits issued last year, so that implausible contribution amount from each shooter has now risen to $143,678.
Jan Davis
March 9, 2024 at 17:32
Ted is right about the ‘pass rate’ for the Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT).
In Tasmania you only have to get a score of 47%, where in other states it has to be 66%. That means roughly half the time, protected species could be shot. And that’s on a paper test – imagine how much more difficult it is to correctly identify birds on the wing in the air, often in poor light conditions. And a shooter only has to sit this test once in their lifetime.
Recently released figures for 2023 show only 11 people sat for the WIT out of the 1044 licences issued. This hardly reflects a mainstream activity.
Jan Davis
March 9, 2024 at 17:57
The estimate of $150m for economic contribution is pure fantasy.
In 2023 the state government commissioned BDO Econsearch to assess the economic contributions of recreational hunting and shooting. The full report is here.
They determined that the total economic contribution of all recreational hunting and sports shooting in Tasmania for 2022 was $88.4 million in GSP (comprising $48.0 million direct and $40.4 million flow-on contribution)and 676 FTE jobs (comprising 438 FTE direct and 238 FTE flow-on jobs).
The data is broken into 3 categories: deer hunting, sports shooting, and ‘other’ (which includes ducks, wallabies, mutton birds, quail and pheasants). The ‘other’ category contributed $37.9 million in GSP (comprising $20.5 million direct and $17.4 million flow-on contribution)and 289 FTE jobs (comprising 186 FTE direct and 103 FTE flow-on jobs). An assessment using figures elsewhere in the report can be read to indicate that duck hunting represents just 11.8% of the ‘other’ category – so $4.5m total economic contribution and 34 jobs.
This is hardly an economic powerhouse.
Ted Mead
March 10, 2024 at 12:08
Thanks Jan, for clarifying the breakdown in false economics!
Do you know where these so-called 34 duck-hunting jobs are occupied .. beyond administration necessities?