Duck hunting limits should be temporarily increased to unlimited as a means to mitigate damage to farming crops and dams, a candidate in this year’s state election says.
Dale Marshall from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party is proposing upping the number of Mountain Duck and Wood Duck species able to be shot for 12 months as the damage the birds cause reaches “unprecedented levels”.
He said the decision follows careful consideration of the significant challenges faced by agricultural communities due to the “unchecked proliferation of these waterfowl”.
“In recognition of this pressing issue, it has become imperative to adopt measures that effectively address the problem,” Marshall said.
“It is essential to emphasise that regulated duck hunting is a safe, sustainable and responsible outdoor activity. It plays a crucial role in wildlife conservation by facilitating population control and habitat preservation.”
The party is urging the RSPCA to “recognise the merits of duck hunting as a legitimate means of wildlife management”.
“By maintaining its stance against duck hunting, the RSPCA inadvertently neglects the interests of regional communities and compromises the sustainable management of wildlife populations,” Marshall said.
RSPCA Tasmania opposes the shooting of ducks for sport, saying that having ducks “blasted out of the skies in the name of sport” needs to stop and not increase.
“The RSPCA believes there is no justification for continuing to allow hunters to shoot ducks for sport and community concern for the welfare of native ducks make it clear that there is no social licence for this to continue,” the organisation said.
“This is why the RSPCA is once again calling on the government to announce that this year will be the last time native duck species face decimation by hunters in Tasmania.”
The latest state-wide waterbird survey from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, completed in 2021, indicates that recorded numbers of Wood Duck were at their long-term average after a previous high in 2019, while Mountain Duck numbers were on the rise.
Licensed hunters can currently take up to 10 ducks per day during the open game season.
