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Further implications
It would appear that as the number of ducks in south-eastern Australia is in decline, so too is the number of duck hunters. There is no direct casual connection between these two diminishing populations.
In 2010, Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of New South Wales, demonstrated that duck populations had declined by 70 per cent in the preceding 25 years. Duck numbers are showing a long-term decline apparently as the result of the increasing loss of wetlands through changing land use and extended periods of drought. Opponents of duck hunting argue that given the vulnerability of duck species, duck hunting puts unwanted pressure on duck colonies, constituting an additional negative variable that could push threatened species into extinction and accelerate the ultimate destruction of many more. From this perspective it would appear to be good news that the number of duck hunters also seems to be falling.
The most recent figure for those holding a duck hunting licence in Victoria is 26,000. This is a marked decline from the 100,000 registered duck hunters in the state in 1986, though it represents a rise from the less than 20,000 registered duck hunters in 2010. Since then the duck hunting lobby has succeeded in having the Victorian government introduce junior licences so that shooters as young as 12 are now able to hunt ducks and, so long as they are accompanied by an adult, fully-licensed hunter, may do so without having passed the Waterfowl Recognition Test. The intention of junior licences would appear to be not only to boost the immediate number of duck hunters, but to attempt to increase the number into the future by training children who will grow up to become committed hunters. This may have some measure of success; however, it seems unlikely to hold out against societal trends which show an increasing urbanisation of Victoria's population and a massive decline in rural communities. This pattern is unlikely to foster a growth in duck hunting.
Commentators in the United States have noted a similar decline in the nation's hunting population. They have also noted that with this decline there has been a drop in funding to support habitat conservation.
Dr Mark Vrtiska of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has published research claiming that organised and licensed hunting has boosted the amount of money being spent on conservation in the United States. More than two million hunters paid for a "duck stamp", a federal licence to shoot the birds in the 1970s. The researchers claim that 98 percent of the money raised was spent on purchasing or leasing habitat within the National Wildlife Refuge System. The dramatic decline in the number of hunters has seen a commensurate drop in the amount of 'duck stamp' money directed toward habitat conservation. The researchers are not optimistic that the numbers of duck hunters will ever rise again, due, as in Victoria, to changing cultural and social factors.
It would be simplistic and untrue to suggest that duck hunters are necessary in Victoria to ensure that wetland habitats are conserved. However, the fact remains that their licence fees make a significant contribution toward the government funds used to attempt to preserve habitats. Many of Victoria's State Game Reserves were originally established using licence fees paid by duck hunters.
There are currently 200 State Game Reserves across Victoria which cover an area of about 75,000 hectares. The first State Game Reserves were purchased using licence fees collected from duck hunters who had recognised that the draining of wetlands was seriously impacting waterbird habitat and populations. Jack Smith Lake Game Reserve was the first State Game Reserve to be proclaimed in 1958. Since then additional reserves have come to play an important role in conservation and recreation. Seventy State Game Reserves support threatened species and eighteen State Game Reserves are listed as wetland of significant importance under the international RAMSAR convention.
Should Victoria reach a point where government and citizens are no longer willing to sanction the annual shooting of ducks, then a commitment will need to be made toward the maintenance of wetlands that are currently game reserves. Additional funding will need to be found and conservation of these areas will need to remain a priority.