Wetland habitats under fire again as inhumane duck hunting begins in SA
Native waterbirds who are legally protected for most of the year are once again suffering as shotgun wielding hunters invade their wetland habitats.
Footage taken on Saturday – the first day of South Australia's open season on native waterbirds – has again proven that widescale animal suffering is inevitable due to the unavoidable wounding of birds pierced by shotgun pellets, many of them hit while in flight.
The footage – taken at Lake George, Beachport and provided to RSPCA South Australia – shows:
- Windmilling (holding a wounded duck by its head and swinging it in circles in an effort to kill it, which is neither a reliable nor a legally acceptable method).
- Wounded ducks suffering prolonged deaths due to shooters not promptly killing them and/or not using an acceptable killing method.
- Shooters continuing to shoot at other ducks before first retrieving and killing the one they have just wounded.
- Shooters appearing to consume alcohol whilst shooting.
- Unbroken shot guns (for safety, the requirement is to have the gun broken when not shooting).
- Shooters firing into flocks of ducks.
- Failure to supervise children during shooting activity and allowing them to windmill wounded ducks (trying to kill them).
- A dead duck floating in the lake, unretrieved by hunters.
- Ducks continuing to fly after being struck by pellets before succumbing to their injuries and dropping from the sky sometime later. Their deaths can be painful and prolonged.
The individuals who witnessed and filmed these activities believe they observed several potential breaches of permit conditions for duck hunting in SA. They have advised RSPCA SA that they intend to submit a formal complaint to the regulator (the Department of Environment and Water - DEW).
The RSPCA is not opposed to killing animals for food but maintains that killing methods must guarantee a quick, humane death. Using a shotgun to kill native birds does not meet this requirement.
"Successive polls and responses to the ongoing Animal Welfare Act review demonstrate overwhelming community support for banning duck hunting," said RSPCA SA Animal Welfare Advocate, Dr Rebekah Eyers.
"At a time when we're promoting the greater Adelaide region as the first National Park City in the southern hemisphere, it makes no sense to be allowing hunters to fire away at our native birds.
"These beautiful wetland habitats are natural assets to grow ecotourism and bird watching, and that aligns with this global movement's mission to support human wellbeing through greater connection with nature."
The RSPCA wants South Australia to catch up with NSW, WA and QLD, all of which banned recreational bird hunting decades ago. The Australian Veterinary Association also supports an end to the activity on the basis that it causes high rates of bird wounding.
