VICTORIA’S duck hunting season has been given the go ahead despite a state Labor-led parliamentary inquiry’s call to ban the practice giving recreational shooters the opportunity to hunt ducks in the Mansfield region from April 10.
The Victorian Government last week announced its response to the inquiry which in August called for recreational duck hunting to be banned across all Victorian public and private land from 2024.
Minister for Outdoor Recreation, Steve Dimopoulos, said duck hunting is a legitimate activity and it supports regional communities and economies.
“Our position has not changed and we’re supporting recreational duck and quail hunting to continue in a safe, sustainable and responsible way with minimal harm to our environment,” he said.
“We thank everyone who contributed to the inquiry – the process was about listening to different perspectives, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
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Field & Game Australia (FGA) welcomed the announcement that the government has supported the continuation of sustainable, regulated native game bird hunting in the state.
“We are grateful to the Victorian Labor Party for its decisive leadership action in rejecting the parliamentary select committee’s previous recommendation to prohibit hunting,” said an FGA spokesperson.
“This move not only honours Australia’s deep-seated hunting tradition but also recognizes the essential role of hunting in our ecosystem”.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy, said the biased recommendations of the inquiry had to be rejected.
“As we have said all along, duck harvesting is sustainable, safe and has huge economic benefits,” Ms Kealy said.
“It is not only a source of food but is also an activity passed through generations which helps with land conservation.
”The government has recognised recreational shooting as a legitimate pursuit.”
Minister Dimopoulos said duck harvesting contributes about $65 million annually to the economy, which benefits local communities across regional Victoria, including Mansfield.
It is reported in 2022, there were almost 28,000 licences to harvest game birds (ducks and quails) in Victoria.
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA ) Victoria hunting development manager David Laird said, “We are reassured that the government has listened to the evidence and committed to a path forward for native bird hunting that provides certainty and addresses community concerns”
During 2023 a select committee of Victorian Upper House members of parliament, conducted an inquiry into native bird hunting, leading to a report making eight recommendations.
“Many of those recommendations will be challenging for hunters, but the only one that we cannot live with is a ban on hunting,” Mr Laird said.
“Along with some hyped rhetoric, the inquiry did hear genuine concerns about sustainability and animal welfare.
“Those concerns are being addressed through key initiatives such as the Adaptive Harvest Model and the Waterfowl Wounding Reduction Action Plan,” Mr Laird said.
Changes from 2025 will include:
improving hunters’ knowledge and skill by making education and training for hunters mandatory;
stricter compliance levels, including further penalties for hunters breaking the rules;
banning the use of lead shot for quail hunting;
implementing the Waterfowl Wounding Reduction Action Plan, to reduce the risk of wounding; and
greater recognition of Traditional Owners’ knowledge of hunting and land management.
Mansfield businessman and licenced professional shooter, Rob Deeble, has welcomed the decision but does concede “it’s a very touchy subject” and has become much politicised.
“My point of view is we need to have respect, whether pro or not pro duck hunting, and be willing to have an open conversation,” said Mr Deeble.
He runs an outdoor camping and fishing store, Summit Outfitters, with his wife Lisa and son Ben, who also share a passion for recreational shooting and hunting.
The store does stock ammunition (but not guns) and stocks a diverse range of items for various outdoor activities that their customers enjoy.
“If things get banned, it can cause a snowball effect, and really impact the community,” said Mr Deeble.
“People don’t see the relevance of why we need to go and shoot ducks”.
He spoke of “things we grow up with” and as a hunter being ethical and respecting the animal and how he would “feed my family”.
Mr Deeble believes that with the licensing of duck hunters and the rules in place for identification of different duck breeds it should reduce the risk of unethical behaviour.
He said education is vital to finding the “right balance”, and not all hunters are irresponsible blaming the “mentality” of the black market for creating a negative view.
In a town like Mansfield, the importance of hunting and associated activities, brings a lot of dollars into the district, Mr Deeble stressed.
“Now becoming more of trend is seeing more women involved with hunting, bringing their sensitivity and calming influences,” he said.
The decision not to ban duck hunting has sparked an angry response from Animal Justice MP for Northern Victoria Georgie Purcell.
“Despite decades of campaigning and insurmountable and undeniable evidence, the Allan Labor Government has confirmed that it will not ban duck shooting - ignoring the key recommendation of its own inquiry and report,” Ms Purcell said.
“I want to make it clear that as a result of this decision, I cannot and will not work with the government collaboratively, the way that I have in the past”.
The decision has also been met with utter dismay by the state’s leading animal welfare organisation.
RSPCA Victoria CEO, Dr Liz Walker, questioned how this decision is safe, sustainable or responsible.
“Devastated doesn’t begin to cover it,” Dr Walker said.
“For more than 30 years RSPCA Victoria has been advocating for duck and quail hunting to be banned, and when the Government’s own select committee recommended it be banned we were cautiously optimistic we might finally see some change.
“We were devastated to hear the Allan Government has gone against the evidence and the views of most Victorians who support a ban.
“Instead, the 2024 season length is nearly doubled, the bag limit has increased, and despite evidence mandatory training isn’t effective in reducing wounding, and evidence enforcement across the state is impossible, it’s being called ‘safe, sustainable and responsible’ – it just doesn’t make sense.
“The government wants to invest $10 million into mandatory training, hoping this will reduce wounding rates, however Denmark, a world leader in wounding reduction, took 20 years to reduce wounding rates, and these rates still sit unacceptably high at around 10 per cent,” said Dr Walker
“At a minimum, a $10 million investment means a spend of around $205 per licensed hunter, and considering how few licenced hunters actively participate, the cost blows out to around $524 per hunter.
“During a cost-of-living crisis, there are plenty of struggling Victorians who would rather $524 in their own pocket,” Dr Walker said.
The significant rainfall received in the state in recent years has been conducive for record-high native bird breeding; the Victorian game duck population increased by almost three-fold.
Victorian duck hunting season to commence April 10
THE 2024 duck season will commence on Wednesday, April 10 and end on Wednesday, June 5, inclusive with areas of Lake Eildon, Lake Mulwala and Lake Hume (on the Victorian side).
Hunting start times will be delayed to 8am for the entire season.
With a daily bag limit of six ducks per day, the Blue-winged Shoveler and Hardhead cannot be hunted for the 2024 season due to their threatened status.
Determinations will be made as part of normal seasonal arrangements about sites where duck hunting will be prohibited.
