By Julius Ewudo, ASEAN Region Representative

A scientific model developed by Australia’s foremost waterbird ecologists has recommended a full-length duck season with a nine-bird-per-day bag limit for Victoria for 2024.

Victoria’s leading shooting and hunting group has called on the Victorian Government to adopt the recommendation. “These decisions should be based on facts, data and evidence,” SSAA Victoria’s Hunting Development Manager David Laird said. “By using the Interim Harvest Model, the Government can give the community confidence that sustainability rather than politics is driving Government decisions”.

The Interim Harvest Model recommendation is informed by the long-running Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey. It and the Victorian Aerial Survey, both showed a significant increase in game duck populations in 2023. “Waterbird numbers are booming,” Mr Laird said. “It is important for the public to understand that game hunting seasons are set using robust science to ensure sustainability is not jeopardised”.

The recently published Conservation and Sustainable Harvest Models for Game Duck Species report adds to the scientific evidence underpinning duck season decisions. “This is critical research that was not made available to the recent Parliamentary Committee looking into duck and quail hunting,”  Laird said. “It essentially sets a floor on the recreational harvest and provides the Government with certainty that season settings will not impact sustainability”.

“Tens of thousands of ordinary, working Victorians are counting on the Victorian Government to announce a duck season in line with the science,” Laird said. “Our members work hard during the week and contribute significantly to this State. All they ask is that they be allowed to enjoy their weekends”.