Unavoidable wounding & “near impossible task” to regulate – but still allowed   

The Select Committee Inquiry into the hunting of native birds in South Australia has released its final report, with the recommendation to allow the controversial recreational activity to continue. RSPCA South Australia believes the evidence presented to the Inquiry in support of a ban was compelling, and that the Select Committee’s recommendations fail to address significant concerns shared by a majority of South Australians.

A recent poll conducted in regional SA[1] involving 1000 respondents found the majority (5:3) supported banning duck hunting. Even in the shooting heartlands of the South-East and Riverland, the majority of respondents supported a ban once they realized the inherent wounding rate.

The SA community’s opposition to allowing the hunting of native waterbirds is reinforced not only by successive polls but also by the Community Consultation Report for SA’s Animal Welfare Act Review which stated:

“The primary theme in the responses was support for banning duck hunting.”

Submissions to the Inquiry demonstrated five key reasons to ban duck hunting. Chief amongst them was the South Australian community’s expectation that it be banned. Other key reasons included: unacceptable bird wounding; an inability to regulate the activity; amenity loss and sustainability issues.

Regardless of the skill of hunters, research shows that duck hunting inevitably leaves birds wounded.

“We estimate up to 10,000 of the approximately 45,000 ducks shot in SA each year will be wounded and left to suffer,” RSPCA SA Animal Welfare Advocate Dr Rebekah Eyers said.

“Seeing a hunter swing a wounded duck around by the neck and then dump it on a pile of shot ducks whilst still alive is a horror that I will never forget.”

Evidence presented to the Inquiry also demonstrated that duck hunting cannot be regulated. In just the first day of SA’s 2023 duck hunting season, in a single location, four shooters committed serious regulatory breaches that were captured and reported by citizens, not by officers of the DEW (Dept of Environment and Water) regulator. This suggests that many other incidents of non-compliance probably occur across the season, but are not detected due to the nature of the activity and the many remote locations where it occurs.

In recommending that native bird hunting should end, the recent Victorian Inquiry described compliance monitoring as a “near impossible task”. South Australia has significantly less regulatory resources than Victoria, and given the public demand to ban it, it is unlikely that SA taxpayers would support subsidising more regulatory resources for this activity, as is recommended in the Inquiry’s Report.

Another important impact of duck hunting presented to the SA Inquiry highlighted how large areas of public land are ‘off limits’ to the 99% of South Australians who don’t hunt during the State’s three-and-a half-month long duck hunting season. There are also safety concerns for families and individuals who inadvertently enter public lands where hunting is occurring, and instances of children finding wounded birds.

The hunting of native birds also presents a sustainability problem that cannot be ignored. Dr Eyers said the latest (2023) Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey adds further reason to ban this cruel activity.

“Despite some good seasons, native bird numbers have not increased sufficiently to cope with the drier El Nino conditions we are heading into,” Dr Eyers said.

“The survey found significant long term decline in bird numbers for five of the eight species shot by hunters.

“It also found long term decline in the number of species breeding and the wetland area available.

“With our native birds already under pressure, allowing them to be hunted makes no sense and cannot be justified.

“This report’s findings fail animal welfare, fail conservation and fail to meet our community’s expectations for the protection of vulnerable wildlife.”

The RSPCA wants South Australia to catch up with NSW, WA and QLD, all of whom banned recreational bird hunting decades ago. The Australian Veterinary Association also supports an end to the activity on the basis of the unavoidable, high wounding rates.

For more information on this issue: https://www.rspcasa.org.au/the-issues/duck-hunting/

[1] Poll conducted by Birds SA

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