Peer pressure is the way to weed out duck hunters disobeying laws put in place to regulate the recreational activity, according to Gary “Pud” Howard.
Key points:
- Hunters are concerned duck hunting will be banned following the Native Bird Hunting Inquiry
- Wildlife rescuers say birds are suffering inhumane injuries, whereas shooters maintain wounding rates can be improved
- The inquiry has heard from unions, which say duck hunting helps their members’ mental health, although rescuers say it is detrimental to theirs
He has spent years restoring the Heart Morass wetland, purchased by his Field and Game club, near Sale and believes it has become a haven for “disciplined” and “safe” hunting.
But for the pastime to continue long term, he said the culture of shooters needed to improve, including scrapping the “Australian adage of not dobbing anyone in”.
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry is looking into native bird hunting and held a public hearing in Sale, east of Melbourne, last week.
It is considering the operation of duck hunting season, its sustainability and impact on the environment, and its economic and social benefits.
Public hearings for the inquiry conclude today in Melbourne.
So far, it has heard a range of views, including from advocates who say animal welfare is a top concern of hunters and opponents who have accused hunters of abuse.
Mr Howard told the Sale meeting it was unusual for duck rescuers or activists to visit the wetlands near Sale and that shooters typically did the right thing.
“The biggest thing is understanding distance and your ability to bring the birds to within an effective range where you can take them humanely and basically instantaneously by using decoys, calls, retrieval dogs, and camouflage,” he said.
Wounding rate up to 40 per cent
Wounding rates were a key topic within the inquiry.
The Game Management Authority (GMA), which runs a program to reduce the number of ducks wounded rather than instantly killed, is now catching birds in cages, surveying them, and releasing them.
The aim is to survey how many ducks are living with shotgun pellets embedded in their bodies.
The GMA acknowledged the wounding rate could be from 6 per cent to 40 per cent.
Former police officer and Sale duck hunter John Byers likened the wounding rate to the road toll when he addressed the inquiry.
“We’d like for it to be zero, but unfortunately that’s not the reality,” he said.
Mr Howard said he failed to see the difference between shooting ducks and catching and releasing fish, which were often left with hooks in their mouths and other injuries.
He said the hunting fraternity was always looking to reduce wounding rates and more education was needed.
‘Thin end of the wedge’
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) told the inquiry’s Sale hearing its members would walk off the job if duck hunting was banned in Victoria.
The Mining and Energy Union and the ETU each made submissions to the inquiry, saying duck hunting was beneficial for their members’ mental health, as shift work often made it difficult for them to participate in other activities.
In their submissions, the unions said they believed duck hunting was the “thin end of the wedge” and if it was banned, fishing and other pastimes disagreed with by environmentalists would be next.
Mr Howard said canning the season was unlikely to cause grave mental health repercussions, but said it was “a way of life” and some hunters “might not cope”.
This year’s duck hunting season only ran for 30 days and had limits of four ducks per day, per hunter.
Shooters were given a month’s notice of the arrangements, which Mr Howard said could contribute to a lack of awareness and preparedness surrounding rules, which were updated yearly.
Rescuers report ‘cruelty and injustice’
On social media, duck hunters have clashed with anti-duck hunting groups like the Coalition Against Duck Shooting (CADS) and the Duck Army.
Helen Round has been rescuing wounded ducks during the hunting season for many years and runs a wildlife shelter in Trentham.
She asked the inquiry to consider the mental health of those rescuing ducks.
“During this inquiry, shooters have argued that they need to kill ducks recreationally for mental health reasons and I ask you to consider the mental health of the people who are actually serving the community,” Ms Round said.
“We have colleagues and friends and who have contemplated, attempted, and actually committed suicide due to the difficult nature of our work.
“I have been a duck rescuer with CADS since 2009 and I return year after year at great physical, emotional, and financial expense because of the cruelty and the injustice I see year after year on the wetlands.”
Ms Round told the inquiry she had received abuse of a sexual nature from hunting advocates via social media.
Committee member threatened
Animal Justice Party upper house member for Northern Victoria Georgie Purcell said she had been the target of death and rape threats since joining the inquiry as a committee member.
“Nothing could have prepared me for what I received from the duck shooting fraternity when this inquiry process began and particularly when our first public hearings began and they were able to watch them and essentially log in at the start of the day and watch me at work,” Ms Purcell said.
“Our laws when it comes to online abuse and online violence are not very strong. That’s why I’ve taken the approach of calling it [out] to let them know it’s not OK.
“This debate is either won or it’s lost on the contest of ideas and who puts the best argument forward, and not by attacking other people.”
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