Duck hunting
Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (09:57): Last Wednesday I too attended the opening of the duck-hunting season at Connewarre in Geelong. I guess I took a different thing from my colleague in that there was no shooting until 8:01 am, which was after the time they were meant to start. I did not see any wounded birds, and in fact the only attitude I really saw was towards the hunters. The take I got from that – and that was my first opening, I have got to point out – was (a) it is not a bloodbath and (b) the hunters were checked. There were not many of them – two or three – but it is a big lake, and none of them were in breach of anything. I think the only really good thing I took from it was that the hunters did the right thing, as they generally do; they do not all do it. I am not supportive of the hunters that do not do the right thing, nor am I supportive of the protesters. I just want to point out that Geelong Field and Game, particularly Trent Leen, did a sterling job of hosting us there.