by Luke Voogt
Calls to cancel duck shooting have ruffled feathers with a local MP labelling an attempt to link bushfires to protecting wetland birds as “outrageously cynical”.
Bev McArthur took aim at her fellow Member for Western Victoria Andy Meddick for linking bushfires destroying habitats across Australia to local duck hunting.
“This call for a year without hunting is a transparent attempt to use the bushfires to pursue an anti-hunting agenda,” she said.
“As Mr Meddick knows well, wetland habitats were not affected by the bushfires. In fact, with significant rainfall in recent weeks, there is no good reason to cancel this year’s season.
“The call to cancel the duck shooting season is an annual tradition for animal activists, and their attempt to link it to the bushfires this year is outrageously cynical.”
Mrs McArthur described duck hunting as a legitimate, safe, healthy and sustainable outdoor recreation beloved by “tens of thousands of Victorians”.
“Now, more than ever, calling off the season would be a kick in the teeth to country towns that need every penny they can get,” she said.
“The industry is worth more than $80 million per year to regional Victoria, and twelve good weeks of guaranteed income will go some way to helping areas recover.”
The criticism comes after Mr Meddick urged State Government to cancel the 2020 duck shooting season ahead of World Wetlands Day last Sunday.
He made the plea citing Birdlife Australia’s recently-released preliminary assessment that found bushfires across Australia had severely impacted the habitats of 19 bird species.
Another 58 species of birds had lost more than a third of their habitat, according to the study.
“We can’t stop the bushfires from threatening habitat – but what the Victorian Government can control is additional pressure on natural systems,” he said.
“This compelling new bushfire assessment should be the nail in the coffin for duck shooting once and for all, but at the very least, Daniel Andrews must cancel the 2020 season.”
Aerial surveys of eastern Australia before the bushfires found native waterbird populations had dropped 90 per cent in the past 37 years, Mr Meddick said.
Climate change had dried out wet forests and no species were exempt from the threats of extreme weather, he said.
“Recreational shooting activities will only worsen the impact on their already damaged habitat.
“I’m calling on Daniel Andrews to make a compassionate and scientific decision this World Wetlands Day, and ensure our precious native birds aren’t further decimated.”
State Government is set to make a decision in coming days on the duck hunting season, scheduled to start on March 3.
