Save native ducks from ‘recreational’ slaughter.

During ‘shooting season’, South Australia’s picturesque wetlands — usually peaceful havens for our unique wildlife — are transformed into government-sanctioned killing fields. The result is decimated wetlands, and animals left to suffer with shattered bills and broken wings.

Sadly, the ‘lucky’ ones are those who are killed instantly. An estimated one out of every four birds shot will instead suffer for hours, days or even weeks before finally succumbing to their injuries; shattered bills, fractured limbs, and punctured organs.  

The RSPCA SA estimated that during the 100-day 2023 season, up to 40,000 birds would be killed and up to 10,000 injured. Given it isn’t feasible to monitor every shooter across every wetland, the true number of individual birds who suffer will never be known. 

Beyond this awful treatment of so-called ‘protected’ species, shooting can also endanger or kill other animals who were never intended as targets; birds incorrectly identified by shooters, young birds abandoned by parent birds who flee in fear or shorebirds who are prone to the stress of gunfire. 

In early 2023, the South Australian Government established a Select Committee to inquire into the recreational shooting of native birds. Neglecting to address the undeniable suffering of native waterbirds and the serious long-term decline of native ‘game’ bird populations, the committee shockingly recommended that duck and quail shooting continue.

Disappointingly, the SA Premier decided to follow the recommendation and permit the slaughter to continue – a decision that is not aligned with what most caring South Australians want. The shooting ‘season’ is set to begin on Saturday 16 March and end on Sunday 30 June, 2024. Based on this call, thousands of waterbirds will continue to suffer, and their species will continue to be threatened – all to cater to the interests of less than 1% of the state’s population.

Regulating bodies claim that rules are in place, but the rural location of wetlands and the number of licenced shooters make effective monitoring impossible. More regulation and resourcing cannot address this. No regulating body can ensure the rules are being followed by over a thousand shooters spread across not only public game reserves, but on private property too. As a result, individual animals suffer greatly, as do species as a whole.

Shooters in both SA (and Victoria) must pass a Waterfowl Identification Test only once.  A recent survey of shooters in Victoria (conducted by the state’s hunting regulator itself) revealed shockingly few shooters knew which ducks they could legally shoot and which species were ‘protected’. Given the single identification test applies to both states, concern for the safety and future of ‘non-game’ species, including threatened species, is warranted.

Shooting is permitted to commence at sunrise and end at sunset. The future of duck species relies on shooters taking initiative to refresh their duck identification knowledge, and their ability to identify species at dawn and dusk when there’s barely any sunlight.

The regulations stipulate that shooters must adhere to the Code of Practice for the Humane Destruction of Birds by Shooting in South Australia – but there is no requirement to undertake any training or prove any competency in killing injured birds ‘humanely’ in order to obtain a shooting licence. In the aforementioned shooter survey in Victoria, 84% didn’t know how to kill ducks they had shot and injured. With no competency test in place, the fragile bodies of sensitive ducks are in the hands of potentially inexperienced shooters who are out to kill them ‘for sport’.

Video evidence of cruelty in Victoria was captured by volunteers on just one of the thousands of wetlands, raising questions as to how much illegal behaviour is going unchecked on wetlands across ‘duck shooting’ states – and how much wildlife suffering is going unseen.

Duck shooting was banned in WA, NSW and QLD in the 90s and early 2000s on animal cruelty and environmental protection grounds. South Australia is years behind.

According to the RSPCA SA, more than 7 out of 10 South Australians want to see an end to duck and quail shooting (South Australian ReachTEL poll, March 2020).

In contrast, duck shooters represent less than one per cent of the community in SA. 1,210 hunting permits were issued in the state in 2021 – but this tiny fraction of the population has a devastating impact on the tens of thousands of sensitive animals who pay the price.

The South Australian Premier has made the decision to allow a 2024 ‘shooting season’. Please urge Premier Malinauskas to make the kindest decision for animals and the environment and finally stop duck shooting for good.

To be a powerful voice for ducks, write a polite but urgent letter below to let political leaders know that:

• We are extremely disappointed with the committee’s recommendations, and we do not want shooting to continue on our beautiful regional wetlands. 
• We don’t want wildlife and residents waking up to gunfire around their homes for months on end each year. 
• We don’t want one in four birds shot and left abandoned on the wetlands to suffer for days. 
• Most of all, we want to see this cruelty end once and for all so that native ducks can live in peace, and be truly protected in the wild.