Mr BAYLEY (Clark) – Honourable Speaker, I rise tonight to talk about the annual slaughter of native ducks. Other states have moved to ban it, Western Australia, New South Wales , ACT, and Queensland. However, in Tassie, the clean, green and clever state with a brand and identity absolutely anchored to environmental protection and wonder, we shoot them. Go figure.
Some, like Western Australia and New South Wales, ended duck hunting back in the 1990s, 35 years ago. Here, the annual three‑month season opened on the weekend. Over the next three months, Tasmania’s 1000 or so licensed duck shooters will likely report taking over 35,000 ducks. I say ‘likely report’ because we know some shooters either do not report or under‑report. In 2023 – the latest available reporting data ‑ 35,716 ducks were shot by 1044 licensed hunters. In 2018, 1161 hunters took over 45,000 ducks. These are beautiful native species: Pacific black duck, chestnut teal, grey teal, wood duck, and mountain duck ‑ the spectacular Australian shelduck.
Apart from the unreported kills, what this data does not show are the wildlife deaths caused by wounding, orphanage or misidentification. Duck hunting is cruel. Hunting is only allowed by a shotgun, by its very nature an indiscriminate, unfocused way to kill. Whether a single duck on the wing or a flock, a shotgun sends dozens of individual shot in an ever‑expanding, less concentrated circle. The greater the distance, the bigger the circle, the less concentrated and less targeted with less velocity the shot. What that means is that many ‑ no one really knows how many ‑ ducks are hit by a piece of shot but do not immediately die and are never recovered and, thus, never reported. Those animals fly on or fall, lost to succumb to their injury, infection, starvation or drowning. Some hunters use dogs to swim out and retrieve floating ducks, whether alive or dead. Imagine the terror when a living but injured duck is confronted with the jaws of a retriever, swum a distance back to the shooter then dispatched with a snap of the neck. These are sentient beings.
Because of the timing of the duck season, some animals are orphaned, as ducklings have not fledged and are yet to be able to fend for themselves. This point is highlighted in the current edition of Game Tracks, the department’s handbook on all things hunting in Tasmania. It says:
Dispatch of wounded ducks. Duck hunters are reminded that when hunting they must ensure that any wounded ducks and dependent young that are unlikely to survive in the wild are humanely killed as soon as possible. It is always better to avoid shooting ducks that you suspect have dependent young.
Surely, it is even better to schedule the season well after the breeding season so ducklings do not become orphaned. Our view is that it should be banned completely, but if you cannot do that, at the very least time it so that ducklings do not die a horrible, orphaned death.
Then there is the non‑target species illegally shot because of misidentification or deliberate disregard. In Tasmania, those five species of duck can be legally slaughtered. The balance are notionally protected, as are every other species of waterbird: the swans, grebes, herons and hens. But it is well understood and at times proven that non‑target species die in the sights of duck hunters, sometimes for the jollies, sometimes just unfortunate victims of mistaken identity.
Where can you hunt ducks in Tasmania? Perhaps this is a strong cultural tradition that happens just on private land? Well, no. The 1000 licensed hunters represent less than 0.2 per cent of the Tasmanian population. Hardly an important cultural activity. With proper permission, they have access to public land, including some Hydro land and formal protected areas. Hydro allows duck hunting on six water bodies. Parks and Wildlife allows duck hunting on formal reserves, unbelievably part of the 50 per cent of Tasmania that the government and our state’s PR lauds as protected. This includes Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve, Waterhouse Conservation Area, and Cameron Regional Reserve, amongst others.
Duck hunting is a cruel, antiquated and completely unnecessary activity that has no place in 21st century Tasmania. As the climate dries, including on the mainland, Tasmania becomes an increasingly important haven for waterbirds where they should have the opportunity to migrate and breed free from the horror of duck hunting. With bird flu wreaking havoc amongst bird species around the globe, including waterfowl, the already compelling case against duck hunting becomes even stronger.
I acknowledge the tireless work of advocates and activists working to protect ducks from hunting, including Chris at Animals Tasmania, Peter at the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Dr Eric Woehler, and Jim Collier. The RSPCA can also play a really important role.
Like other states, and echoed with the recent parliamentary recommendations in Victoria, duck hunting will become a thing of the past in Tasmania. For the sake of our species and reputation, may it be sooner rather than later.
Time expired.
