Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Duck hunting

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (19:04): (668) My adjournment is to the Minister for Outdoor Recreation. The recent captain’s call by the Premier to refuse to ban duck shooting will guarantee the horrific deaths of thousands of waterbirds, and their blood will be on Jacinta Allan’s hands. This is yet another example of a bad call by the Premier, hard on the heels of the last-minute backflip on child bail, which abandoned vulnerable kids. We will soon see yet another year of shooters going out to murder our native waterbirds. Labor’s own inquiry recommended that the duck-shooting season end for good. The inquiry broke the record for submissions. How spineless do you have to be to go against the expert advice provided to an inquiry that you set up? In that inquiry my fellow members across the chamber and I heard graphic testimony from veterinarians and other rescue volunteers on the front line. Given the nature of shotguns, which fire an arc of pellets, very many birds are not killed cleanly or outright; many are wounded fatally, left to die slowly and in pain from horrible injuries. We heard from Dr Walker from the RSPCA, who said that some birds will survive their injuries but noted that there are welfare issues for those that do survive:

Wounded birds can suffer from the pain and disabling effects of injury, from sickness due to wound infection or from thirst or starvation. Injuries to the bill often lead to the inability to drink or eat. Wing fractures are common, and as with other injuries, the wounded bird is at heightened risk of being taken by a predator.

We know so many Victorians will be feeling angry and disheartened by the decision, and the Greens stand with them. To those whose peaceful local wetland is about to be turned into a war zone, I am sorry that the government did not hear your voices. In the midst of an extinction crisis and with thousands of waterbirds already under extreme stress, everyone knows that duck shooting has had its day and needs to be banned for good – everyone, that is, except Labor. These are not the actions of a progressive government. The Greens will continue fighting to end this barbaric practice and recognise it for what it is: glorified animal cruelty. My adjournment is for the minister to follow the advice of the inquiry, which was based on extensive consultation and evidence, stand up for our state’s native wildlife and follow the lead of Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales and ban duck shooting for good.