Wetland bird hunting numbers have surged despite bag limits and a shortened season that almost never was.
An estimated 391,900 ducks were hunted in Victoria in 2024, about 22 percent higher than average, Game Management Authority figures show.
There were also more than 455,000 stubble quail harvested—almost triple the long-term average.
The figures come nearly a year after the Victorian government ignored a parliamentary inquiry recommendation to ban duck hunting.
Hunters said the report was a vindication after the authority linked the numbers to increased hunter activity and favourable game breeding conditions.
“What the anti-hunters predicted was never going to happen because they predict it every single year,” Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Jeff Bourman told AAP.
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“They refuse to accept the reality that duck hunting … the effect is infinitesimal. Habitat loss is the problem.”
A University of New South Wales (NSW) report into waterbird populations found despite recent favourable, wet La Nina years, the number of species breeding and total wetland area had declined.
Animal Justice Party leader Georgie Purcell said while hunting was not the biggest threat to native waterbird populations, it was the easiest to remove and bad practices were ongoing.
“We saw shooters shooting over the bag limit, we saw them shooting protected species,” Purcell told AAP.
Duck hunting has long been banned in Western Australia, NSW, and Queensland.
Instead of a total ban, the Victorian government opted to shorten the season, implemented a bag limit of six per day and pledged to deliver all other inquiry recommendations in the final report.
“They’ve committed to a range of things that they claim will make duck shooting better regulated, that will protect native species, that will stop wounding,” Purcell said.
“Now we are weeks out from a season announcement, and none of these things have been done.”
A Victorian government spokesman said some reforms, including the banning of lead ammunition and electronic callers for native game bird hunting had already been introduced, with more to come ahead of the 2025 season.
“Duck hunting is a legitimate activity—but more than that, it supports regional communities and economies,” they said.
The further reforms would include adaptive harvest management, hunter education, and training and waterfowl wounding reduction measures.
Nationals MP Emma Kealy said the 2024 figures proved duck harvesting was sustainable, safe, and beneficial.
“Labor must not use duck hunting as a trading card for votes ever again,” she said in a statement.
Field and Game Australia chief Lucas Cooke agreed.
“Hunters continue to lead the way in ethical wildlife management, ensuring that harvesting remains sustainable while contributing to regional economies and conservation outcomes,” he said.
Animal rights activists disappointed by the report said their resolve to end the practice had not been shaken, Coalition Against Duck Shooting campaign director Laurie Levy told AAP.
“We‘ll be back out on the wetlands, and we’ll continue to fight the issue as hard as we ever have until duck shooting is banned,” he said.
