The serenity of the Australian wetlands at dawn; a gentle breeze stirs the eucalypt leaves; the rising sunlight filters through the reeds, casting shadows into the dense earth; frog song and insect chatter set the picturesque scene as native birdlife glides overhead.

Suddenly, the serenity is shattered by blistering gunfire; bodies drop to the ground, lives in their prime, taken down. This is the reality of duck shooting in Australia.

This distressing scenario occurs for an annual season across many Australian states. While one could be forgiven for assuming that hunting of wildlife may avoid many of the inhumane practices associated with animal farming, the capacity for suffering of these native species is extremely high, and shows a blatant disregard for protection of our environment and natural resources.

Thankfully, hunter numbers are declining, and increased public pressure and concern for our native species mean the days of duck slaughter are numbered. Given the welfare concerns, duck hunting has already been prohibited in the ACT, Western Australia, NSW and Queensland.

Animal Exploitation

According to the Using Game Management Authority (GMA), as of 30 June 2024, a total of 58,611 people were licensed to hunt game in Victoria. 10,181 (17%) of these were only licensed to hunt Game Birds, including Duck. 

As of September 2024, Victoria's estimated population was 7.0 million, indicating the practice is in place to cater to less than 0% of the population. Of this, Of the 21,383 licensed duck hunters in Victoria, only 60 per cent actively hunted in 2024, representing an even smaller fraction of the overall population. This tiny proportion of the population causes a massive amount of carnage and disarray over the three month annual duck season. In 2024, active duck hunters killed and collected an estimated average of 30.3 ducks each during the season, over an average of 8.9 days. Official GMA results found that an estimated 391,900 game ducks were harvested in 2024, which is 22 per cent above the long-term average of 320,000.

Of course, this is only the official number. Duck shooting is shrouded in scandal. Hunters are set a 'bag limit' - the number of birds they are permitted to kill on any given day - for the hunting season, but there have been numerous, large-scale incidents of shooters killing far more than they are legally permitted. To get around this, hunters will discard excess ducks and only present the permitted number to authorities.

The opening of the 2017 season showered the Koorangie Marshes in dead birds, with authorities witnessing more than 1,000 left uncollected by shooters. Volunteer from Coalition Against Duck Shooting later discovered pits concealing hundreds more discarded birds. It was later confirmed by the Game Management Authority that at least 260 protected birds were killed at the Koorangie State Game Reserve during the opening weekend of the 2017 duck hunting season.

A similar incident occurred near Boort in 2013; the aptly dubbed 'Box Flat Massacre'. These principles go against the Game Management Authority's own "ethical hunting" principles, displaying the disrespect for birds in hunter culture, and the disregard for the environmental and welfare impacts of killing these birds, whether protected or otherwise.

The Pegasus report, a 2017 inquiry into the adequacy of the GMA's ability to enforce compliance following on from the Koorangie incident, stated "...non-compliance with the game hunting laws is commonplace and widespread, and the GMA is widely perceived by its external stakeholders and its own staff as unable either to ensure compliance with the game hunting laws, or to effectively sanction offenders when those laws are breached.".

Significantly, none of these figures take into account the wounding rate of hunted birds. Shotguns, which are used to hunt ducks, operate by projecting a 'cloud' of pellets spread over a larger area. A natural consequence of this is that in addition to shooting at the target animal, there may be some inevitable 'collateral damage' to surrounding birds. Alternatively, if the shot is taken improperly, it may not be fatal to even the target animal. While the number of birds which are injured but not killed is very hard to accurately calculate, GMA have recognised that 6%-40% of ducks shot by hunters are wounded but not killed. A study done in Victoria, found that 14% to 33% of birds were wounded but not retrieved by hunters. This is compounded by the fact that there is no compulsory accuracy test prior to being awarded a game licence.

"Wing, bill and leg fractures are common in surviving birds. If left, wounded birds can suffer from the disabling effects of the injury, including pain and infection, or thirst or starvation if unable to drink or eat. All of these increase the likelihood of being taken by a predator."

Contrary to what the public widely assumes, there are no government accommodations in place for dealing with injured wildlife as a result of the season they endorse. Many more birds would suffer unduly if it were not for the effort of volunteer rescuers and veterinary triage teams attending the wetlands. This is a completely self-funded, voluntary effort with no financial input nor support from authorities. Sadly, rescue efforts are frequently hampered by the thick reeds in which injured birds attempt to hide from humans, only to go through more protracted suffering.

Even for the birds who are able to completely escape injury, there is no consideration of the behavioural stressors to wild animals of having their environment invaded by the sound of guns, the disruption to their homes by hunters and their dogs, and the potential loss of their bonded mates, with some game species mating for life.

Ecological Concerns

While already unjustifiable on welfare grounds, the environmental impacts of duck shooting are also appalling, especially with our wildlife already experiencing the stressors of bushfires and climate change. Contrary to popular belief, even among the shooting community, all the 'game' species approved to be hunted during duck season are native birds, and are protected at all other times of year.

Duck shooting is also responsible for the deaths of protected and threatened species each year. Some of the 260 protected ducks killed in the 2017 massacre were Freckled Ducks, Australia's rarest waterfowl, endangered in Victoria. Volunteers from Coalition Against Duck shooting (CADS), recovered 145 of these threatened birds.

Hunters are required to sit the Waterfowl Identification Test prior to being granted their duck shooting licence in Victoria, though this multiple choice test is only required to be passed once for a hunter to be active indefinitely, and is not reflective of real world conditions.This being said, regardless of whether a species is protected or not, the suffering experienced by game species is no more justifiable than if they were protected.

More direct environmental damage occurs secondary to the presence of hunters on the wetlands. Every year, volunteers clean up a multitude of spent shotgun cartridges, rubbish, environmental damage and other debris left behind by hunters. Thankfully, the use of lead shot, which has severe ecological consequences as lead leeches into the environment, was outlawed in Victoria in 2001.

Environmental damage can also occur in more covert ways. In 2009, Field and Game Australia pleaded guilty to illegally diverting water away from the Latrobe River into their private shooting property prior to the start of the hunting season of that year. 

Traumatising and Unpopular

In the wake of the deadly 2019-2020 bushfires experienced by Australia, communities banded together to support one another and our native wildlife. The last thing many wanted to happen was further desecration of native species. Sadly, all Australian states with an annual duck hunting season proceeded to declare 2020 shooting could go ahead. These distressing decisions cater to the minute proportion of the population that are shooters, while ignoring the mental strain and will of the remainder of the population.

A Roy Morgan Poll conducted in 2007 found an overwhelming majority of Victorians think duck shooting should be banned, and subsequent polls have shown results similar to this, showing how meaningful native birdlife is to the majority of Victorians. Grimly, this does not seem to factor into government decisions at all, choosing to pander to the hobby of a few while ignoring many.

In 2023, a parliamentary inquiry recommended outlawing duck hunting citing a range of reasons including the long-term decline of native birds, animal welfare concerns regarding wounding rates, the unacceptable wounding and death rates of threatened species, and the inability  of GMA to enforce compliance with hunting conditions. Despite this, the Victorian Labor Government refused to ban the pratice, instead choosing to extend the 2025 season, which lasted for almost 3 months.

The hunting season

During the duck hunting season, volunteers from the Coalition Against Duck Shooting and other animal protection organisations attempt to warn ducks away from shooters' guns, rescue wounded birds and bring them to shore for triage by veterinary volunteers, and importantly, provide additional monitoring of shooter behaviour and draw it to the attention of authorities.

Physically watching the carnage that occurs on the wetlands and striving to save lives, with exposure to traumatic injuries and stressed animals, leads to mental anguish and compassion fatigue. The cost of rescue supplies, medication, and transport of injured birds after triage for the lucky few who don't require immediate euthanasia are all worn by the volunteer rescue effort.

While the mental health benefits of shooting to those involved is often used as a justification for it's continued existence, the converse poor mental health of those left picking up the pieces is perpetually ignored. 

Many volunteers will end up being charged by the GMA for acts as simple as stepping too close to the water while attempting to help an injured duck. These charges result in lengthy court proceedings and financial strain for rescuers.

It is often overlooked that hunting licences can be granted to children as young as 12 years of age in Victoria. Licenses for those under the age of 18 are free of charge. This is before the age at which a lot of children can grasp the implications of what they are doing. An example that exemplifies this was the shooting of a rescuer in the face as a result of inappropriate gun use by a 14 year old boy in 2011.

Economically and Biologically Unjustifiable

Duck hunting also carries with it a variety of negative health consequences, both physical and economical. A 2023 report by the Australia institute found that:

"Ending native bird hunting would have a minimal impact on the economy and would provide substantial benefits to residents and businesses near hunting areas."

Despite hunted ducks purportedly being taken for consumption, there are significant disease risks to human health associated with this practice. In 2017, hunters were warned not to eat hunted ducks after it was found that a defence base had contaminated wetlands with dangerouse 'forever chemicals.'

Ongoing disease risks include botulism (rare), blue-green algae poisoning, and the theoretical risk of avian influenza.