Right: cover-up: duck bodies are uncovered from a dump site in the Victorian wetlands.
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Background information
Background
Recreational duck hunting is permitted in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. In Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania hunters are required to pass a Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) before being permitted to hunt ducks. This test is intended to ensure that all licensed duck hunters can adequately identify game and non-game waterbirds while in the field.
To remain sustainable, game harvest levels must not exceed the annual rate of production. There are a number of mechanisms that can be used to regulate harvest levels, including season length, bag limits, number of hunters and the times and places where hunting can occur. In Victoria, the most commonly applied harvest regulators are season length and bag limits, but in certain instances, tighter controls are used to achieve particular management objectives. Hunting is timed to be outside the breeding and moulting seasons. Most ducks in south-eastern Australia breed in spring and then become flightless, moulting and renewing their feathers.
Despite the management measures habitually applied, conservationists argue that duck numbers in south-eastern Australia are in long-term decline. A major factor contributing to reduced numbers, as with all species in all areas of the world, is habitat loss. Many of the rivers of the Murray-Darling no longer flood as frequently or extensively as they used to. This limits feeding and breeding habitats for ducks: less wetland means fewer ducks.
Each year, the Victorian government decides whether to declare the duck season open on conservation grounds. They use long-term aerial surveys, rainfall, flooding indicators and surveys of wetlands. They also collect data after the event, surveying the numbers and species shot each year - the 'bag' surveys.
In 2010, the Victorian government developed an adaptive scientific modelling approach to duck shooting. This relied on answers to key questions to build understanding of the underlying drivers of duck conservation. However, disputes around the sustainability of duck shooting remain.
In December, 2016, the Victorian government released its Sustainable Hunting Action Plan.
As of December, 2016, the stated objectives of the Victorian Government regarding duck hunting are:
* to promote responsible hunting,
* to improve hunting opportunities,
* to maximise the economic, environmental and social benefits of the sport.
The primary emphasis here on promoting hunting is a major source of contention within the Andrews Labor government where there are a large number of members of Parliament who are more concerned with species conservation.