GMA refuses to extend duck hunting season, amends website to justify

Duck hunters accuse Game Management Authority of changing duck breeding dates to keep season at just 20 days.

Duck hunters say science shows their limited 20-day season should be extended to 75 days. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Victoria’s Game Management Authority has been caught out amending its calendar on when to hunt ducks, to rule out extending the current 20-day season beyond June 14.

Historic snapshots of the GMA’s website shows that up until at least March 30 this year the GMA’s “When to Hunt” calendar showed duck breeding did not start until August.

But by April 20 the GMA had mysteriously amended the calendar to show breeding started in June.

Game Management Authority brings forward its duck breeding calendar to June, preventing an extension of the hunting season.

At the time the GMA had just released research by Arthur Rylah Institute showing the 20-day duck season could be extended to 75 days and the two-bird daily bag limit lifted to five birds, given helicopter surveys showed there were about 2.5 million game ducks on the state’s wetlands, of which 10 per cent could be harvested.

But while the GMA was willing to lift the bag limit to five birds, it told The Weekly Times on April 19 it could not extend the season beyond June 14 as ducks would “commence breeding, including pair bonding, nest building and egg laying”.

By April 20 GMA staff had changed the start date of duck breeding on their “When to Hunt” website calendar from August to June.

Field and Game Australia chief executive Dean O’Hara said “it looks like GMA changed their website to support their narrative”.

“The optics are concerning and our view is there’s no reason why the Minister can’t extend the season.”

A GMA spokesman told The Weekly Times it: “regularly reviews the information on its website to ensure it aligns with research and the best available science.

“The early stages of breeding typically occur in the second half of June and July. Chicks start to hatch in August and then take approximately two months to fledge.”

FGA have also found the brief given by GMA to Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas in January on restricting the season to 20 days contained a glaring error.

The GMA brief states: “most of Australia has received average to below average rainfall in 2020 and there has been some partial recovery of the prolonged rainfall deficiencies.”

Yet the Bureau of Meteorology’s 2020 Climate Statement states: “nationally-averaged rainfall (was) 4 per cent above average for the year at 483.4 mm” and well above average in NSW.

The GMA has since updated its advice to the Minister to include updated rainfall data.