Image at right: Three states allow duck shooting at certain times of the year, but pressure from the general public and anti-duck hunting organisations will probably result in an eventual phasing out of the traditional "duck season".
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Background information
Much of the information contained below has come from the website of the Victorian Game Management Authority. This can be accessed at
The information regarding Australian game birds can be accessed at Field and Game Australia.
Duck hunting is legal in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory for a specified hunting season each year.
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.
Bird species that can normally be hunted during open seasons.
Victoria
Blue-winged Shoveler, Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Hardhead, Mountain Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Wood Duck and Stubble Quail
Tasmania
Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Wood Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Black Duck, Mountain Duck, Blue-winged Shoveler, Hardhead and Stubble Quail
South Australia
Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Wood Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Black Duck, Mountain Duck, Blue-winged Shoveler, Hardhead and Stubble Quail
Northern Territory
Magpie Goose, Black Duck, Water Whistling Duck, Grass Whistling Duck, Grey Teal, Pink-eared Duck, Hardhead and Wood Duck
To remain sustainable, game harvest levels must not exceed the annual rate of production. There are several 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. Recently, unusual flood activity in New South Wales has been claimed to pose a different set of threats to waterbird populations.
Each year, the three state governments that generally allow duck hunting decide 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.