Waterbirds suffer for ‘sport’
Native ducks and sometimes even endangered and ‘protected’ birds are gunned down by shooters, their fragile bodies shattered by pellets.
The ‘lucky’ ones are killed instantly. The unlucky ones — an estimated one out of every four birds shot — will suffer for days or even weeks before finally succumbing to their injuries.
Perhaps most awful of all? This cruelty is inflicted upon defenceless animals in the name of a ‘sport’ that the majority of caring Australians oppose
To make an awful situation worse, according to the government’s own survey, shockingly few Victorian shooters understand the ‘rules’ when it comes to killing waterbirds. In light of the survey findings, the Victorian Government is knowingly letting shooters onto the wetlands who don’t have the necessary animal welfare knowledge, don’t know which ducks they can legally shoot and which species are ‘protected’, and on top of this, don’t understand close-range shooting safety risks.
Despite all the evidence, the Victorian Government is appeasing the minority (shooters), ignoring the majority of Victorians, and threatening the long-term survival of our native wildlife.