A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry released last week is calling for a complete ban on recreational duck and quail shooting in Victoria from next year.
The Select Committee inquiry into Victoria’s native bird hunting arrangements handed down its final report in the Victorian Parliament on Thursday, with the first recommendation calling for the ban on shooting on private and public land from 2024.
It comes after a six-month inquiry process with more than 10,000 submissions received – the largest ever in Victorian parliament history.
The committee also conducted public hearings across Melbourne and regional Victoria, as well as attending the opening morning of this year’s recreational duck shooting season.
The Select Committee has backed in its support for greater access to outdoor recreation, recommending that State Game Reserves be transformed into Outdoor Recreation Reserves, with updated infrastructure to support activities like boating and camping.
Latest Stories
Other recommendations also include a ban on lead ammunition for all forms of hunting in Victoria, and greater protections for Aboriginal cultural heritage sites.
Recreational duck and quail shooting was outlawed in Western Australia in 1990, New South Wales in 1995 and Queensland in 2005.
The campaign in Victoria has been running for almost 40 years, and these recommendations bring the state closer than ever before to doing the same.
Northern Victoria Region upper house Animal Justice Party MP and Select Committee member, Georgie Purcell, wants the Victorian Government to immediately act on all of the recommendations before any arrangements are made for a 2024 season.
“When I was elected as an Animal Justice Party MP in Victoria, I made a commitment that I would do all I can to end duck shooting," she said.
"It has been my priority and today, we are now closer than ever before.
“Victorians love our wildlife - they don’t want to see native animals shot for a thrill kill.
"The recommendations by the Select Committee are commonsense and in line with long-held community sentiment.”
Ms Purcell said it has been made abundantly clear through a parliamentary inquiry that no matter how well resourced the Game Management Authority is, monitoring duck shooter compliance is near impossible due to the enormous number of places that shooting can take place.
She said evidence from hunters, rescuers, animal welfare groups and shooting organisations all acknowledged that duck shooting without wounding was simply not possible, and the committee has determined this an unacceptable animal welfare outcome that can only be addressed with a ban.
But Eastern Victoria Region MP Jeff Bourman described the main recommendation to ban the sport as "farcical".
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP said a ban is "in complete contradiction to the credible evidence presented to the committee".
"In fact, the report should really start, ‘once upon a time’, it’s so far removed from what we heard.
"It’s proof that the whole process was a sham, that the outcome was predetermined and that a lot of people have wasted time and resources for nothing."
