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.

Disappointingly, out of step with community expectations, the South Australian Government has announced an open duck shooting season from Saturday 18 March 2023 to Sunday 25 June 2023 with a ‘bag limit’ (killing quota) of 8 ducks per day, per shooter. While there are fewer licensed shooters in South Australia (SA) compared to Victoria (VIC) – the only other mainland state to permit the recreational slaughter of ducks – the length of the season and the number of birds permitted to be killed in the state equates to enormous levels of suffering.

The RSPCA SA estimates that over the 100-day season, up to 40,000 birds will be killed and up to 10,000 injured… all in the name of ‘recreation’.

Ironically, the “protected species permitted for duck hunting…” are listed on the government website; the grey teal, chestnut teal, Pacific black duck, Australian shelduck, and maned (wood) duck. Blasted from the sky with shotguns, the bodies of these native ‘protected’ animals will soon be shattered by clusters of up to 200 pellets.

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

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

The rules in place do not spare wildlife from suffering

Regulating bodies claim that rules are in place, but the rural location of wetlands and the number of licenced shooters make effective monitoring impossible. 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.

Almost beyond comprehension the rules also permit shooting ducks 30 minutes prior to sunrise and 30 minutes after 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.

A ban would be in line with community expectations

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.

In Victoria, the only other mainland state to allow duck shooting, this issue could be coming to a head. The media recently reported advice from senior government sources that a complete ban on duck shooting is being seriously considered by the Victorian Government.

Ducks and other wildlife desperately need your voice

Devastatingly the 2023 ‘shooting season’ is set to go ahead in South Australia, but the future of duck hunting in the state will soon be reviewed. Please help protect precious wildlife and urge the South Australian Government to 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 don’t want shooting continuing in 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.