Calls intensify to stop ‘outdated, cruel’ duck hunting in SA amid declining game bird populations
Three Australian states have banned duck hunting – now the RSPCA and other groups are intensifying calls for SA to do the same.
SA News
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Calls are heating up for a ban on recreational duck hunting in SA, with this year’s shooting season declared amid a dip in native species populations following the drought.
The RSPCA and other animal groups are calling for a State Government rethink of the practice – which is banned in Queensland and Western Australia.
In New South Wales it is allowed only on properties covered by a native game bird management licence.
However, the State Government says it has drastically reduced the number of ducks shooters can target this year, and hunting groups insist their activities make an important contribution towards wetland conservation.
This year’s hunting season runs from March 20 – June 27.
Environment Department data shows 2020 wetland surveys found game duck numbers were the third lowest on record, and about a quarter of the long-term average.
The drought is a major factor in the smaller population sizes.
RSPCA animal welfare advocate Rebekah Eyers said duck hunting was cruel and outdated.
She highlighted a 2020 survey of 1015 people that found almost three quarters of South Australian respondents wanted duck hunting stopped.
The ReachTEL survey was commissioned by the Treasures not Targets coalition of groups lobbying for an end to duck hunting. It includes the RSPCA, Birds SA, Fauna Rescue, Protect our Native Ducks, and Animal Liberation SA.
“The government’s decision to allow this outdated, cruel activity flies in the face of survey findings and public opinion on duck-hunting and nature tourism,” Dr Eyers said.
“Tourism surveys recognise how lucrative avitourism/nature-tourism is for regional communities, and regions are increasingly tapping into it.
“But almost three quarters of respondents in a recent South Australian poll said they would not visit areas if duck-shooters were present.”
Dale Smith, president of the Kingston SE Clay Target Club, whose members also target ducks, said hunters pumped a huge amount of money into restoring wetlands and funding their upkeep.
“It’s not just the ducks that benefit, it’s all the animals and birdlife,” he said.
“(But) It has to be done in a sustainable way – that’s why we have bag limits.”
Mr Smith said hunting was a tradition for many families, and participants were “not the mob of yobbos” that the “green movement” made them out to be.
“When you think about it people might cut crook about hunting but they’ll eat a feed of fish.
“They accept that but don’t accept someone shooting a duck. For me it’s the same thing.”
Conservation and Hunting Alliance of SA vice president Rob West said the hunting community worked with the Government to set sustainable duck and quail seasons.
“There is no peer-reviewed study to suggest that hunting under current conditions risks the sustainability of duck and quail populations,” he said.
“Hunters are just like fishers – they hunt because they love wild food harvested from healthy
environments such as the lakes, estuaries, rivers, wetlands and cropping lands of South Australia.”
A State Government spokesman said: “The balance between ecological value and the social and cultural values of the community is always taken into account when considering open season duck hunting”.
“Before allowing a hunting season a range of scientific assessments are made including environmental conditions and population numbers to ensure conservation and sustainability of waterfowl species,” he said.
“This year there will be a significantly restricted season with usual duck bag limits cut by two thirds and the quail season closed altogether.”
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