Have Your Say on Duck Hunting in Victoria
UPDATE 8 May 2023: This inquiry has now closed.
A parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s duck hunting season is underway.
During the 2022 season, 262,567 individuals were shot out of the sky in the name of “sport” and countless more were likely wounded and left to endure slow, painful deaths.
With the 2023 hunting season due to start on 26 April, let’s try to make sure this will be the last time war is waged on our wetlands. Join us in speaking up for ducks by making a submission to the inquiry.
Anyone can participate, and you know that hunters certainly will. So it’s up to all of us to defend ducks by making a submission.
We’ve created a guide to help make the process simple. It will only take about 15 minutes of your time to complete the submission, but your participation has the potential to help save hundreds of thousands of birds’ lives.
Douglas Gimesy / We Animals Media
- Fill out the first section with your name, e-mail address, and postcode.
- Use the submission box to have your say. We have some key points you could use to formulate your response below, but submissions in your own words will carry more weight.
- Choose whether you’d like your submission to be made public and published with or without your name. Digitally sign the submission using the text box.
And that’s it!
Below is some useful information for formulating your response for step 2. Say as much or as little as you want – by taking part and making a clear statement against recreational hunting, you’ll be helping ducks. Please be sure to refrain from using any language that might cause offence.
- Victoria’s duck hunting season causes prolonged suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of native birds each year. For each animal killed outright, many more are wounded and left to die slowly and in agony from shattered bills, fractured limbs, and pellets lodged in their vital organs.
- Duck hunting is already banned in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. A former premier of Western Australia, Carmen Lawrence, stated that the community could “no longer accept the institutionalised killing of native birds for recreation”. Meanwhile, Queensland banned the practice due to “overwhelming” community concern about cruelty to birds.
- Duck hunting in Victoria is causing catastrophic damage to the state’s wetland ecosystems and the wildlife who live there. According to the October 2022 Eastern Australia Waterbird Aerial Survey report, duck populations are below the long-term average, with six out of eight “game species” showing significant long-term declines.
- The noise pollution caused by hunters in the early hours of the morning is extremely disruptive to Victorians. In fact, people are less likely to visit an area with duck hunting because of safety concerns and noise. (Please incorporate any personal experiences about disruptions caused by hunting into your submission.)
- According to the Kantar Group research firm, 66% of Victorians oppose duck hunting. Continuing to allow this cruel, environmentally damaging pastime would be out of step with public opinion.
Thank you in advance for speaking up for ducks! Your time is greatly appreciated, and you’ll be playing a meaningful role in the protection of Victoria’s birdlife.
The deadline for responses is Monday, 8 May 2023, so please share this information on Facebook and challenge three friends to take action by tagging them.
