In some of the areas where there are water bodies, it is duck hunting and in other areas it's quail....
You have to read it to believe it. Makes me feel sick and speechless.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-09/victoria-marketed-as-destination-for-trophy-hunters/5509576
I might ask the question, "how will hunter from the other side of the globe know the difference between endangered birds?"
M-L
I think the trophy hunting they mean is for ferrals like pigs buffalo goats dear and the like and they have been bringing hunters here to shoot them for years there just promoting it more now so its always been there the public is just becoming aware of it.
I know a lot of hunters through the field and game some shoot ducks and come up with all sorts of reasons for shooting them all of which I think are just so much bull dust !
Those who want to shoot them in Victoria whether there from overseas interstate or locals have to go through permits duck I D tests and very strict rules and regulations you can't just turn up at a lake blast away like a lot of people think ,and yet in spite of all this mistakes are still made "every year" and then there's a big "hoo haa" for a few weeks then nothing .
But Quail thats a whole other story ,so far no one can give me a real reason for shooting them ," not one " ,if they want to eat them they can buy them through any butcher .
There not a threat to crops ,in fact if they didn't have dogs to flush them you wouldn't know they were there, they don't spread disease to live stock ,they don't pollute dams and water ways ,they don't breed up and pose a problem to anyone in anyway so why is it still legal to shoot them ,they're only allowed to shoot brown and stubble Quail but I know for a fact others are shot when they flush there so fast no one could pick one from the other, and there's not a lot of policing , more presure should be put on the powers to be to stop Quail shooting I think it would be a battle that would easer to win than duck shooting ,there's no defence for it.
When he's reported by the ABC to have said that registered hunters "do do the right thing" Minister Walsh seems to be calling into question previous reports that hunters have killed Freckled Duck. Either that or he's spinning better than Shane Warne. And just because someone is registered to hunt is no guarantee that native animals aren't targetted. There are hoons sans frontieres everywhere in Australia.
To promote its environmental credentials (assuming it has any) the Victorian government would do better to promote an extensive, intensive & consistent feral animal control programme rather than promote, in another classic case of spin, "trophy hunting". What a load of marketing baloney!
Sparrow,
Coming from a hunting background, many years ago, I can give you some insight on why hunters shoot quail.
Quail flush very quickly and fly very quickly, I think about 40km an hour so giving the hunter a skill challenge in the shot.
Most hunters these days I think would replicate that with trap shooting targets.
Hunters also used to shoot Snipe for much the same reason, in that they would flush late then go into a fast zig zag flight presenting a greater challenge.
Most hunters these days would replicate that with skeet shooting targets.
All the hunters that I have ever met would shoot for the pot. That's not to say there is any shortage of idiots out there.
I think both forms of field shooting are thankfully slowly dying out.
Cheers
Hi Rick,
I also come from a hunting and shooting background I reached Australian level in small bore rifle and was A grade or better in most of the shotgun clay target disciplines, I was even picked for the olympic skeet training squad back in the day so I know a bit about hard to hit targets.
I still don't beleve hunters should be allowed to shoot Australian native birds just because there hard to hit ,there has to be a better reason than that ,if they want a challenge why don't they shoot ZZs a type of simulated live pigeon tarrget, now they're hard to hit !
I've had this same discustion with a lot of hunters including my father and uncles, growing up in East Gippsland I was considerd the odd one out because I wouldn't shoot ducks quail or other natives and when the family sat down to meal of roast wild duck or the like my mother would serve me chicken because she knew I would refuse point blank to eat it.
I don't really have a problem with hunting, I have shot my fair share of rabbits and other ferals my father says this makes me a hyprocite, so be it , I just don't like the idea of Australian natives being killed in the name of entertainment or because it fun to blast a fast moving little bird out of the sky, like I have already said because they're hard to hit just doesn't cut it for me .
Cheers
Mark
So are the Stubble Quail even eaten by shooters or are they just target practice?
They seem too miniscule to bother with.
I thought the lack of prized terrestrial avian game was the reason for the introduction of an array of quail (e.g. Californian), pheasants and partridges like chukars and other game species into Australia, largely unsuccessfully.
As for the duck hunting, given the array of purportedly non-target species (protected ducks, swans, birds of prey etc.) regularly presented to authorities by volunteers I assume the industry is not particularly well-policed. Does passing a waterfowl ID test later excuse the shooting of a Whistling Kite? Clearly there are some rogues about.
I am also rather concerned about the NSW situation whereby large numbers of native ducks may be legally destroyed under the ostensible pretence of crop protection initiatives. The following link may be interesting
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20130620005
I was concerned by this statement by the Minister for Agriculture reported in the article:
"In eastern Victoria and the north-east it is principally deer hunting. In some of the areas where there are water bodies, it is duck hunting and in other areas it's quail.
On top of that there is the pest control part of it as well - where they're out there controlling wild dogs, foxes and rabbits."
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Notice? He includes deer as a native animal along with ducks and quail.
The Hansard report from NSW Parliament was interesting- it seemed to me, the situation is a bit like how cormorants were once villified by fishers and Wedgies by farmers. They're seen to do damage, so get the blame, but in reality the amount of damage the Pink Eared Ducks would really do to crops is minimal. It's not even their primary food source!
I think the situation for the introduced deer may be that they are perceived to be low-impact by authorities (the official position, regardless of any actual impact) due to vested interests acting to ensure their survival so that 'sustainable' numbers of animals continue to be available for hunters ($). That is, if we eradicate them as a feral species there won't be tourist $ coming in.
This is a similar case for trout for angling in Vic, the fish are afforded some level of legal protection (deliberate stockings to replenish numbers, off seasons whereby fishing is not permitted, enforced bag limits etc.). This attitiude is seemingly inconsistent with conservation efforts (the introduced trout are well known to have had a very negative impact on various native galaxias species for example, eliminating them from much of their former ranges) and can be contrasted with the action towards other less desired species (by anglers... i.e. if trout were not tasty or prized sport fish generating industry $ they would likely not be afforded special protective status).
As for the NSW parliament, i would be particularly keen on a peer-reviewed source for a Pink-eared Duck consuming a snake...
edit:it appears deer are indeed protected species in Victoria
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/sambar-deer/5160562
Zosterops you reminded me with your coment on trout angling ,I asked some local fishermen what was the best bait for trout and redfin in the lakes in my area and was told that most of the locals use live Gudgeons Smelt and Galaxiids minnows .
I said hang on you mean you use live native minnows to catch introduced fish that doesn't seem right ,there responce was you asked and thats what we have always used ,I find this appalling killing native fish to catch introduced ones
Hi Mark,
Wasn't aware of your background. I agree with all you have said and it mirrors my experience of growing up in South Gippsland
I don't see how reduction of a feral species ie foxes can be logically compared with shooting native,possibly endandered, animals.
Cheers
What a good discussion this has turned into, for a moment I thought it was of no interest
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I see the biggest problem with hunters from overseas treating this like going on a safari in the wild Australia. Coming with the attitude , we paid a lot of money to do this, so we can do what we like and shoot anything that moves.
If a few thousand Aussie blokes can’t tell the difference between duck species, how can you expect non Australians to recognize any birds at all?
M-L
Yes zosterops all the hunters I know eat the game they kill , I can remember my father saying if you take the life of one of gods creatures you are then obligated to treat its remains with respect and this meant eating or using as much of the animal as possible, we clashed here to because I won't eat offal ,but the point is like most of his generation he only took what he could use and nothing was ever wasted.