Right: overreaction: a duck shooter takes aim at a protester.
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Arguments in favour of duck hunting
1. Duck hunting is regulated to ensure species survival
Bag limits are set to regulate the maximum number of ducks which can be taken during each day of the duck hunting season. In 2017 this number was 10 per day. This is the largest number ever available. In some seasons the number has been cut back to as low as four or five because it was judged that depleted birdlife populations would not withstand the higher bag numbers.
If duck numbers are low in some regions then they will not be opened for hunting. In numbers are low overall, the decision may be taken to cancel the duck hunting season in a particular year.
In December 2016, the Victorian Government introduced the Waterfowl Conservation Harvest Model. The Waterfowl Conservation Harvest Model is intended to use the best scientific methods to predict the impact of environmental factors and hunting on game duck populations.
The Government has also indicated that it will undertake research, monitoring and evaluation by developing a game species research strategy to better understand the distribution, abundance and recruitment of game species and the impact of hunting activity. It will research land and habitat management techniques to benefit native game species. It will ensure the tagging, banding and monitoring game to better understand movements and breeding cycles and assess relationships between hunting seasons and local ecosystems around hunting reserves.
The Government aims to provide better access to information through a single, comprehensive hunting website, an improved distribution network for a new hunting manual, and the upgrading of the game licensing system to allow for more targeted messaging to hunters.
The Government also intends to improve seasonal announcements by effectively communicating information to stakeholders when seasonal variations are required or areas are temporarily closed to hunting. Early advice will be provided through the Victorian Game Hunting App, Twitter and Facebook.
2. Duck hunters have to be licensed before they can hunt
Anyone wishing to hunt game in Victoria, including juniors (12-17 years) and international visitors, must hold a current Game Licence. The Game Licence must be endorsed for the appropriate type of game to be hunted and only permits hunting game in Victoria. Persons less than 12 years old are not permitted to use a firearm or to hunt or take game. Prior to applying for a Game Licence to hunt game ducks in Victoria, hunters need to pass the Waterfowl Identification Test.
This information is intended to enable hunters to identify some important waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) in Australia. For sound conservation it is essential that hunters should be able to identify game ducks before they shoot. Most of the written descriptions of game waterfowl and other common waterbirds are accompanied by illustrations. The illustrations are intended to highlight important distinguishing features and allow for positive identification of the bird, both in flight and in the hand.
Each season the ducks able to be shot are specified. In the 2017 the specified species are Pacific Black Duck, Grey Teal, Mountain Duck, Wood Duck, Chestnut Teal, Hardhead Duck and the Pink-eared Duck. These ducks are designated for shooting because pre-hunting surveys have indicated their numbers are large enough to allow their being hunted. (It should be noted that these judgements are vigorously disputed by some experts.) In 2017 the Blue-winged Shoveler was named as not to be hunted because of low numbers.
A Provisional Game Licence allows juniors to go hunting for duck without the need to first pass the Waterfowl Identification Test. However, a junior hunting under a Provisional Game Licence must be under the direct supervision of an adult who holds a valid Game Licence specific to the species being hunted.
To possess, use or carry a firearm in Victoria, it is necessary to hold and carry a current Firearms Licence issued by Victoria Police or any equivalent current interstate Firearms Licence. In addition, all firearms must be registered. This includes all shotguns and rifles.
3. Duck hunting is of economic advantage to Victoria
Supporters of duck hunting highlight the importance of the duck hunting season for rural economies, attracting large numbers of shooters to rural communities where their provisioning and support make a valuable financial contribution to regional areas boosting profits and local employment.
In announcing its Sustainable Hunting Action Plan in December 2016, the Victorian Government noted, 'Hunting continues to grow in popularity and makes a significant contribution to our state's economy. An estimated $439 million flows into towns and regional centres across Victoria, supporting approximately 3,500 jobs.'
In terms of the direct gross State product impact of the different animal groups, pest animal hunting is the most significant ($59 million), followed by deer ($57 million), duck ($43 million), and quail ($18 million).
At the start of the 2017 Victorian duck season, the Minister for Agriculture, Jaala Pulford, stated, 'Duck season is a customary trip away for many families and is an important economic contributor to the rural economy, bringing 26,000 licensed duck hunters to small towns and regional centres across the state.'
Blair Findlay, chairman of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party of Victoria Geelong branch, has welcomed the opening of the 2017 duck hunting season for the economic benefits it will bring to rural Victoria. Mr Findlay stated, 'It'll attract people to the region and when hunters travel they spend money in rural areas.'
A similar remark was made at the start of the 2017 duck hunting season by Geoff Abrahall of H&S Firearms in Sale. Mr Abrahall said he was 'optimistic' about the impact the season would have on the local economy. He stated, 'It's fantastic that the announcement's been made; it's that time of year that everyone gets excited. The opening weekend is a great time for families, and we get a massive influx in Sale.'
This point has also been made by David McNabb, the general manager of Field and Game Australia, who has stated, 'They [hunters] spend a lot of time out and about every weekend, scouting and looking at conditions and specific wetlands and monitoring the progress of the great breeding event, so that's money already flowing in. It's a tank of fuel here and pies at a bakery there.'
On January 9, 2016, Neil Jenkins of the Combined Firearms Council of Victoria argued that those who argue for the banning of duck hunting underestimate the importance it has for rural economies. Mr Jenkins stated, 'While a ban on duck shooting has an appealing and simplistic appeal to the inner urban set who know nothing about it, a ban would have serious economic consequences for the Victorian economy.
A recent study by the government's own Game Management Authority shows duck hunting is worth more than $100m to the Victorian economy... [A ban] would affect key regional areas such as Traralgon, Mansfield and Kerang.'
The importance of duck hunting to rural Victoria has led some spokespeople for the sport to condemn what they believe is the inconsistent manner in which governments have regulated duck hunting, complaining that without greater reliability the full advantages to country regions cannot be realised. This point was made at the start of the 2017 Victorian duck hunting season by Rob Treble, the chairman of Field and Game Australia. Mr Treble stated, 'We want a season where consistent management actions are applied, avoiding the extreme caution that caused the snap closures of wetlands in 2016 which had a direct impact on hunters and regional economies.'
4. Duck hunting is a valued recreation for many people
Supporters of duck hunting note that for many people hunting is a highly valued activity which promotes skills of hand and eye co-ordination, while allowing hunters to enjoy the natural environment in a very direct and engaged manner.
It is argued that hunting has been important to human beings from very early in human evolution and that even now when it is no longer required in order for Australians to feed themselves, it supplied an elemental satisfaction that is very important to some people.
Sporting Clays Australia notes on its Internet site, 'It is human nature to hunt. Throughout history hunting has played a significant role in the development of societies all over the world.'
Referring specifically to Australia, Sporting Clays Australia notes, 'In Australian society today the practice of modern hunting continues a tradition extending back through many centuries. Despite the fact that hunting is no longer essential to human survival, the hunting tradition is kept alive by popular desire to maintain certain cultural values, just like the traditional aboriginal hunting and bush craft and the use of indigenous foods or 'bush tucker' which also generates enormous interest.'
Sporting Clays Australia stresses the importance of duck hunting in contemporary Australia. The group argue, 'The place of hunting in today's society is sometimes questioned. We hunt for the same reasons that we catch fish, grow our own vegetables, or choose to make our own clothes. Besides companionship and general outdoor experience, hunting these days involves a range of other activities including conservation, bush craft and the preparation of special game meals for the family at home.'
Those who hunt ducks typically argue that they do so for a range of reasons - to exercise a skill, to savour the wetlands environment, for the challenge of the hunt and for the pleasure of adding a wild-caught, free-range creature to their menu. This last motivation was stressed in a comment written by Rohan Anderson and published in The Guardian on March 24, 2014.
Anderson writes, 'Before dawn, I roll out of bed and gear up. My 12 gauge is loaded and my pockets filled with some extra shells. The morning is often crisp and the sun is still in slumber. In the darkness I walk in fields of long wet grass, my boots soaked from the evening's dew. The early morning birds perform a symphony that can bring goosebumps and a tear. I'm all alone bar my hunting dog Henry, who heels beside me.'
Anderson details the manner in which he and his family savour the meat of the ducks he shoots through the season, 'I tend to poach, roast or steam the ducks so I can retrieve every morsel of meat from the life I have just taken.'
5. Duck hunters play a leading role in wetland conservation
Supporters of duck hunting claim that duck hunters are playing an important role in the management and conservation of wetlands.
Field and Game, Australia, states on its Internet site, 'A primary objective of Field & Game Australia is to preserve, restore, develop, and maintain waterfowl habitat in Australia. Waterfowl hunters are aware of the importance of our wetlands and the biodiversity associated with them.'
Field and Game, Australia, further claims, 'Field & Game Australia have consistently been at the forefront of wetland conservation, often being the first to notice changes in waterfowl habitat and population, continually seeking the reasons for these changes. Wildlife scientists agree that the loss of habitat is the greatest threat to waterfowl, far greater than recreational hunting. Several species including the Hardhead, Blue-wing Shoveler, Blue-billed Duck and the Musk Duck have been considerably effected through the alteration or loss of their habitat, reflecting a continuing need for Field & Game Australia's wetland restoration and conservation programs.'
Field and Game, Australia, note, 'Hunter-led conservation contributes much to wetland health: several of these unique wetlands may have been drained and destroyed decades ago, if it were not for some concerned hunters wanting to protect waterfowl populations and habitat.'
In its Sustainable Hunting Action Plan 2016-2020, the Victorian Government promotes a case study of the Heart Morass Wetland. The Government states, 'Hunters and environmental conservationists have come together in a long term commitment to conserve the Heart Morass wetland. In a joint initiative between Field & Game Australia, Bug Blitz, Watermark Inc. and the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, the Heart Morass wetland has been rehabilitated from a wasteland in 2007 to a thriving wetland at the mouth of the Latrobe River in Gippsland. Following initial funding for the land purchase from members and branches of Field and Game Australia and the Hugh Williamson Foundation, the wetland is now a place of national significance for waterbirds and other wetland dependent flora and fauna.'
Hunters licence fees also contribute toward habitat management. As Sporting Clays Australia has noted on its Internet page, 'A major fund raising initiative involved lobbying State Governments for the introduction of a game licence fee levied on all hunters. This raises more than $1.5 million dollars every year across Australia, much of which is channelled into wetland conservation projects and wetland purchase and lease agreements. In addition to firearms owners contribute more than $5 million annually to the economy through licence fees, much of which is available for wildlife management purposes.'