Thursday, 15 May 2025

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (09:51): The Greens will keep standing up to save Victoria’s native waterbirds. The duck-shooting season in Victoria should be cancelled. Not only is this a year of drought which is wreaking havoc on wild bird populations, as the slaughter continues we now see reports, as we do every year, of shooters flagrantly breaking the law. There is evidence from Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting documenting cases where shooters are engaging in illegal activities, including using toxic shot, using boats and shooting protected species. A reminder to everyone: it is illegal to use or possess toxic lead shot; it is illegal to hunt ducks from a boat with the motor running on open water such as lakes, reservoirs or dams; and it is illegal to use boats to pursue, hunt, take or destroy game in Victoria. The Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting have reported these illegal activities to the regulator and included photos in their evidence. We understand the regulator has yet to respond, and I hope it is with prompt and appropriate action.

There are even incidents of shooters themselves being hit with stray shotgun pellets and evidence from shooters warning each other that they have been shot. This reminds us how much of Victoria becomes a public shooting range for months across this season of slaughter. These are public waterways. There are no signs, usually, warning the public that these are areas where shooters are active, and you risk getting shot if you are out having a walk. I will be asking the minister: who is liable if someone gets shot and injured on our wetlands?