The 2025 duck hunting season looks set to be the most devastating in recent memory with the largest bag limit since 2018, and a season length increased by more than 45% adding pressure to already declining bird numbers.
RSPCA Victoria is greatly concerned these factors, combined with the unacceptably high wounding rate, will lead to even greater suffering for our native ducks this year.
"Based on the Game Management Authority's 2024 game bird harvest report[1] we estimate between 23,500 and nearly 157,000 ducks would have been wounded and not killed outright last year, resulting in large-scale suffering," Dr Walker said.
"With the bag limits and length of season increased this year, these figures will only rise.
"While the Victorian Government has introduced additional online theory-based training for new licence applicants, this fails to address unacceptably high wounding rates of up to 40%[2] – our main animal welfare concern.
"At the very least the Game Management Authority should introduce shooting proficiency testing for new and existing hunters, with the purpose of reducing the wounding rate."
Despite duck hunting being an activity only undertaken by 0.18% of the population[3], the list of concerns continues to grow.
"We have the release of UNSW's annual water bird survey, where they observed a nearly 50% decline in overall numbers[4], with the abundance of all game species also found to be below their long-term averages[5]," Dr Walker continued.
"Finally, with current outbreaks of Avian Influenza (bird flu), and the looming threat of the highly infectious H5N1 strain causing mass mortality events overseas for wild birds, we're deeply concerned about the increase in hunting affecting the sustainability of our waterbird populations."
States such as Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia all banned native bird hunting up to three decades ago with people still enjoying the great outdoors, and calls for a duck hunting ban in Victoria have grown louder every year, with independent research indicating two in three people across the state (66%) oppose it.
"RSPCA Victoria will continue to call for an end to duck hunting, but while it is still occurring in this state, improved testing and training must be prioritised to reduce the unacceptably high rates of wounding," Dr Walker said.
The Select Committee's recommendation of a ban on native bird hunting was formed after consideration of extensive evidence including:
- the suffering caused to waterbirds through unavoidable wounding,
- longitudinal data indicating species decline that provides clear evidence that hunting is unsustainable, and
- the majority community support for an end to native bird hunting in this state
RSPCA is opposed to the recreational hunting of ducks and quail as it causes unnecessary injury, pain, suffering, distress or death to the animals involved.
