The Coalition Against Duck Shooting opposes the Premier’s opening of a three-month duck season. Photo: Coalition Against Duck Shooting/Facebook.
The Coalition Against Duck Shooting (CADS) has accused the Victorian Government of ignoring the risk of bird flu and the dwindling wildlife.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan recently announced the opening of a three-month duck-shooting season with a nine-bird-per-shooter daily limit.
In response, CADS said the shooting season increased the risk of H5N1 (bird flu) spreading, as well as the pathogenic H7N8 strain recently detected on two poultry farms in northern Victoria.
The group cited the risk to shooters handling the birds, and to CADS volunteers who rescued and aided injured birds, which often showed similar symptoms to bird flu due to their wounds.
“Allowing shooters onto the wetlands means that our volunteer rescuers and veterinarians must be present to help wounded birds,” CADS campaign director Laurie Levy said. ”The danger for rescuers is that shot birds can display similar symptoms to H5N1-contaminated birds.”
In addition to anticipated health repercussions, CADS cited ecological concerns surrounding Victorian wildlife.
Levy accused the Premier of disregarding the October 2024 Eastern Australian Waterbird Aerial Survey, which CADS said showed “a collapse of overall waterbird populations”.
CADS also said the population of “game” species was down 50 per cent compared with the previous year.
“The Premier’s decision to allow duck shooting also disregards Labor’s own parliamentary inquiry, which recommended a total ban on native bird hunting from 2024,” Mr Levy said.
”However, Premier Allan reportedly made a ‘captain’s call’, under threat from two heavyweight union bosses, who threatened a mass walkout on all Big Build projects if duck shooting was banned.
“Premier Allan has ignored regional Victorians who lost millions of dollars when she cancelled the Commonwealth Games. They want investment in tourism.
“With Victoria’s growing debt crisis, and the government languishing at around 22 per cent in the polls, Jacinta Allan should listen to regional Victorians who are strongly opposed to duck shooting and replace this outdated activity with a First Nations cultural, nature-based wetlands and waterbird tourism industry.”
Mr Levy accused the government of spending millions to prop up a “blood sport” and said the practice had already been banned in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
CADS again plans to display killed birds outside the Premier’s office in protest.
