Victoria on track to ban recreational duck hunting from 2024

A total ban on duck hunting across Victoria from as early as next year is set to be recommended by a parliamentary inquiry.

Duck hunting is on track to be outlawed across Victoria as early as next year.

A key parliamentary inquiry is set to recommend a total ban on recreational duck hunting on private and public land commencing in 2024.

The ban is understood to be the key recommendation of a draft report being prepared following a parliamentary inquiry into the sport.

It would bring Victoria into line with Queensland, NSW and Western Australia where duck shooting has been banned.

Daniel Andrews is understood to have been reluctant to implement a duck hunting ban.

Pressure has been mounting on the government to outlaw the annual hunt with growing internal pressure from Labor MPs and ministers to end the practice.

Government sources said a ban was close in 2022 but was derailed because of the election.

Among the Labor caucus there is a split between senior ministers over whether or not to introduce a ban.

Daniel Andrews is understood to have been reluctant to implement a ban.

However he could be convinced to act on the back of the recommendations of the inquiry.

There is some internal angst about the political fallout of a ban.

This year’s duck shooting season was significantly limited compared to previous years. Picture: Brad Fleet

This year’s duck shooting season was significantly limited compared to previous years.

Sources close to the parliamentary inquiry confirmed the recommendations would likely include a statewide ban.

This would be supplemented with a series of other recommendations.

The decision will wedge Labor in an awkward position, with several unions already threatening a mass walk-off from the state’s major infrastructure projects.

Electrical Trades Union state secretary Troy Gray fronted the parliamentary committee in June where he vowed to run a multimillion dollar campaign in support of the controversial practice.

Earlier this year, the same union walked from the Metro Tunnel project, with 800 workers storming off the job to protest potential restrictions on duck hunting, and other outdoor activities.

Committee chair Ryan Batchelor said the final report was due to be tabled by August 31.