As floodwaters continue to wreak havoc on the state's riverside communities, RSPCA South Australia is urging the State Government to cancel the 2023 duck hunting season amid fears the flooding will exacerbate declining duck numbers.
The State Government announced in parliament yesterday that there would be a 2023 season. (See background information below.)
In the most recent duck population survey, conducted by DEW (Department of Environment and Water) in 2021, long-term averages for six of the eight species monitored in SA were dramatically lower.
Similarly, the 2022 University of NSW Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey found few native ducks in SA. A report from the survey conducted from Mildura to Goolwa states:
"Like everywhere else, there are very few waterbirds on the billabongs. Just a couple of black swans, cormorants and Australian shelduck."
At the top end of Lake Alexandrina, the point where the River Murray flows into the lake, the survey found:
"It was surprising again how few waterbirds were around. Probably one of the lowest counts we've seen."
The only wetland found to have a reasonable number of waterbirds was Bool Lagoon, where they have been protected from shooters since 1998.
A 2020 ReachTEL poll conducted in SA found that 73% of respondents wanted duck hunting to end and 74% would support their MP to achieve it. Opposition to the activity is also strong in Victoria, not only among the public but also in parliament. Ahead of Victoria's state election last November, 22 Labor MPs (including current ministers) declared their support for duck hunting to be banned.
RSPCA SA's Animal Welfare Advocate Dr Rebekah Eyers said there was no justification for allowing shooters to target ducks, especially at a time when their populations were in long-term decline and facing the added threat from floods.
"Some research has shown that duck abundance falls when water levels rise steeply, which removes microhabitats and creates unfavourable conditions for ducks (1)," Dr Eyers said.
"We believe it would be wise for government to take a precautionary approach and not call a 2023 duck shooting season. This will allow them to conduct an impact analysis and collect data on duck numbers following the flooding event.
Dr Eyers said that aside from significant conservation concerns for duck species, RSPCA has long opposed the recreational activity as it is contrary to the organisation's core mission of preventing cruelty.
"This is a recreational activity that causes wide-scale suffering due to the high wounding rates - shooting flying birds with shotguns that spray pellets at them is sickeningly inhumane," Dr Eyers said.
"These ducks are not pests, they are definitely not over-abundant and our community wants them protected,"
South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are the only four states and territories that still declare an annual duck hunting season (2). The recreational activity is banned in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland. Ahead of last year's election, the State Government promised an inquiry into duck hunting, but no date has been set.
Background Information:
The 2023 duck hunt season in SA is scheduled to run for just over three months, from Saturday 18 March to Sunday 25 June. It will allow the shooting of five duck species - grey teal, chestnut teal, Pacific black duck, Australian shelduck and maned (wood) duck.
Individual shooters are permitted to (kill) and 'bag' 8 ducks each per day, which is the same number as last year. These 'bag' quotas do not include the significant number of birds that shooters are likely to injure whilst attempting to kill and bag 8 ducks. Australian research estimates at least 1 in 4 birds hit will be injured, not killed outright. Many of these will escape and drown or die slowly from starvation, infection or predation.
The 2023 season also allows for the shooting of Quail. Despite a lack of independently sourced data on quail numbers, the quail season will run from Saturday 29 April to Sunday 30 July. Individual shooters are permitted to (kill) and 'bag' 25 quail each per day, which is 5 more per day than last year.
• Duck shooting permit numbers from the 2022 SA season: Total permits to shoot ducks was 1127, compared to 1210 for the 2021 duck shooting season. Approximately a quarter of these went to Victorian shooters. 17 permits were issued to 'juniors', as young as 14.
