Tag Archives: recreational duck hunting

Victorians: Urgent plea for help

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DavinaDuck-chicks-Dixie-Dee-Dilley_supplied-Barbara-Devine_cropped

Dear Wildlife Protectors

DAVINA DUCK AND and her three children Dixie, Dee and Dilley urgently need your help.  These gentle, defenceless, voiceless, beautiful birds live their lives in wetlands all over Victoria and the Victorian Labor government has again allowed, supported and promoted another season of duck shooting.

This cruel, barbaric and inhumane slaughter of native wildbirds must be banned forever.  This video taken on the first day of the 2021 Duck Shooting season shows very clearly why? This little duck was alive, grabbed by a dog and then the sadistic shooter held the little duck while the dog savagely ripped it apart. It is beyond belief how anyone could commit this atrocity on another living being and just for ‘fun’.

This little duck will never see another sunrise or sunset and you can hear the little duck crying as its life ends so horrifically.

I am writing on behalf of all the ducks and their chicks who will be subjected to this killing spree until June 14. The adult ducks who are killed will leave chicks to die a long and agonising death as a result of starvation.

Duck shooting must be banned forever and  the only way to achieve this is for compassionate, caring, intelligent and educated people to stand up for what they believe in, raise their voices and demand change.

These native water birds live in wetlands and they should be havens for these gentle birds, not killing fields where they are slaughtered for fun.

Can you please post and share this video so that all your compassionate, caring supporters will be informed about this needless slaughter and hopefully take action. Once informed people can send an email, make a phone call to politicians and join with thousands of Victorians to Ban Duck Shooting Forever.

No compassionate, caring person could watch this video and not be horrified and appalled at how this little, gentle, defenceless duck ended its life.

The government should be promoting and supporting nature-based tourism in all these regional and remote areas as this will provide jobs, support small businesses and ensure the long term profitablity and sustainability for regional communities, all of which are struggling in today’s world.

Each of us has a voice and as shown by young people like Greta Thunberg and Malala we can change the world.

This special message is written on behalf of Davina Duck and her three children Dixie, Dee and Dilley and all voiceless and defenceless native waterbirds and wildlife.

Ban duck shooting forever.

— Barbara Devine

CONTACT LIST FOR POLITICIANS

Please contact your Victorian Labor MPs in both the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament (you can find their details here — https://parliament.vic.gov.au/about/electorates), send them the link to the above footage (https://www.duck.org.au/breaking-news/) and ask that they immediately ban this obscenely cruel ‘sport’. Insist that duck shooting be included in the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions — whether 5km from home or not.

Killing for the sake of killing is not ‘sport, recreation or fun’.

Minister for Agriculture, Mary-Anne Thomas,
reception.thomas@minstaff.vic.gov.au / phone: 8392 2261

Minister for the Environment, Lily D’Ambrosio,
lily.dambrosio@parliament.vic.gov.au / phone: 9637 9504

The Acting Premier, Hon. James Merlino,
james.merlino@parliament.vic.gov.au / phone: 9651 1222

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING

Remind these politicians of the Vision and Purpose of their Animal Welfare Action Plan as they have obviously never read the Plan or it was simply a PR exercise and lots of spin.

Vision:  A Victoria that fosters the caring and respectful treatment of animals.

Purpose:  To ensure Victoria continues to improve animal welfare and is well respected globally for animal welfare practices.

The Humane Society International has publicly condemned the Victorian Labor government:

“Allowing this activity to continue would be an affront to conservation and contravene the commitments made in Victoria’s Animal Welfare Action Plan, tarnishing the stated aim for Victoria to be respected globally for its animal welfare practices.”

“The love of all living creatures is the most notable attribute of man.” — Charles Darwin

Power to the people and peace to the world.

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Petition: Protect our native waterbirds – Ban duck shooting!

Please help our native waterbirds by lobbying to put an end to this cruelty and ban recreational duck shooting once and for all.

US ballistics expert and duck shooter, Tom Roster, has shown that at least one in four birds targeted are not killed but wounded (this figure was recognised by Victoria’s Department of Sustainability and Environment)

Shotguns spray hundreds of small pellets, resulting in ducks with fractured or broken legs, or legs shot off entirely, shattered bills, splintered wings, pellets through eyes and gunshot lodged in organs, muscles and tendons. This is grotesque cruelty and wounded birds face a slow, painful death. Rescuers have often seen birds stuffed into shooters’ bags while still alive.

Injured Eurasian Coot - Kerang -17.5 Kim Wormald

(image: This wounded protected Eurasian Coot was recovered by rescuers at Lake Murphy on May 17. It was treated by a wildlife carer and released at a sanctuary last weekend. Photo by Kim Wormald)

The opening weekend attracted 14,000 hunters across the state, with 26,000 people authorised to hunt ducks. The government says a survey of the state’s 47,000 licensed game hunters found the industry was worth almost $440 million a year. It seems that even the tiniest creature has economic value, equated in dollars!

Laurie Levy, the campaign director with the Coalition Against Duck Shooting, has been an outspoken critic of the industry. “We had rescuers out every weekend of the duck shooting season,” he said.

Again this year, as well as protected and threatened species, lots of so called ‘game’ birds were saved from the shooters’ guns or recovered by rescuers, either dead or wounded.

Despite the dry and quiet season, 10 illegally shot threatened Freckled Ducks, Blue-billed Ducks and Musk Ducks were recovered by rescuers, as well as Swans, Hoary-headed Grebes, over 20 Eurasian Coot and other protected species.

Previous Labor governments in WA, NSW and Queensland have banned the barbaric activity, yet the Victorian Labor party still supports this grotesque cruelty.

(featured image: Freckled duck, Victoria. During the season, rescuers recovered over 100 dead or wounded waterbirds, including illegally shot threatened species such as Freckled Ducks, Blue-billed Ducks and Musk Ducks, as well as protected Hoary-headed Grebes, Eurasian Coots and a Swan)


Petition: Protect our native waterbirds – Ban duck shooting!
Letter to: Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews, Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford

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