Duck hunting 2021: Protesters fined, banned for harassing Victorian hunters

When GMA officers sent a drone up to detect illegal behaviour during duck hunting over the long weekend, they only caught protesters breaking the law.

The Game Management Authority used a drone to catch illegal activity at Lake Connewarre during the closing weekend of Victoria's duck hunting season.

A surveillance drone was sent into the air to catch illegal behaviour over the closing weekend of Victoria’s reduced duck hunting season, but only protesters and not hunters were found doing the wrong thing.

The Game Management Authority used a heat-sensing drone at Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula to assist officers in surveying the wetland and guide them towards any potential illegal hunting activity or breaches of public safety laws.

“While no hunting offences were detected, the drone observed a number of people breaching public safety laws, including entering specified hunting areas during prohibited times and hindering/harassing hunters related offences,” GMA director of compliance and intelligence Paul Stevens said.

Two protesters were issued with infringement notices and one received a banning notice.

During the 2021 duck hunting season — which was 20-days and included a statewide coronavirus lockdown during that time — another four protesters received infringements for being in a State Game Reserve without a valid game licence and three received a banning notice for offences relating to hindering and harassing hunters.

GMA said some other matters were also currently under investigation.

Three hunters received infringement notices for hunting with an expired game licence and one hunter received an infringement for hunting without a valid game licence.

GMA said its authorised officers were active across the state and spoke to more than 650 hunters at different wetlands.

It said all hunters present at wetlands patrolled by officers complied with the starting times and bag limits.

The season closed 30 minutes after sunset on Monday.

Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick took to Facebook on Monday night reiterating his commitment to ban duck hunting.

“I’ll be pushing the government harder than ever to finally rid our state of this barbaric, outdated wildlife thrill kill,” he said.

“There’s no honour in blasting birds from the sky. I went to parliament committed to banning duck shooting, and I won’t stop until it happens.”

MORE

GMA CHANGES DATES ON DUCK BREEDING CALENDAR