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Did someone say duck?

Written by
February 21, 2012
Be Smart
7 Comments

It’s Tuesday and today I’m talking about duck hunting.

Did you know duck hunting season will soon kick-off in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania? In case you’re wondering, it’s been banned in other states after public opposition.

According to Animals Australia, an organisation opposed to duck hunting, more than 600,000 ducks were killed in Victoria’s season last year. It’s estimated that for every duck killed and captured, there is another duck left injured. The occurrence and degree of maiming, depends largely on the skill of the shooter and the weapon used. It’s been well evidenced that the majority of ducks injured are not discovered by the shooter, so end up slowly dying after prolonged suffering. None of that sounds very sporting to me.

The RSPCA is also a vocal opponent of the “sport” calling for it to be banned Australia-wide. Both organisations have links on their websites asking people to send emails to the South Australian, Victorian, Tasmanian and Northern Territory Governments urging them to put a stop to recreational duck hunting.

Unsurprisingly, the Australian Shooters Association of Australia is not on the same page. On its SA branch’s website, it has a photo not too dissimilar to the one below, over-layed on top of the image it says: “Get ready for a bumper 2012 Duck and Quail season. Take a mate duck hunting”. And bumper it will be, with (and this is in SA alone) bag limits of 12 ducks and 25 quails per hunter per day for the season being set by the government yesterday. Seeng that the duck season goes for three months and the quails season for nearly four months – that seems like a lot of dead birds to me.

But don’t worry, as the ASSA has a Hunter’s Code which asks for members to obey game laws, rules of safe handling, support conservation efforts and to acquire marksmanship skills to “assure clean, sportsmanlike kills”. Mmm, okay. Still not convinced.

The thrill of the hunt. Photo: Pinterest

For people who do not eat meat on ethical grounds, they would argue that killing animals for any reason is wrong. I have for many years been of that belief. However, I now eat meat and I particularly enjoy Peking Duck so I’m not sure if I am in a position to argue against killing ducks. I do try though to, where I can, buy only ethically grown and killed meat. Just as I refuse to buy caged eggs, I also attempt to buy free range pork, chicken and other meat. If someone was to shoot a duck and then consume it that night for dinner I would not feel uncomfortable.

However, without a doubt, I am against shooting animals for fun. I am aslo wary of the impact duck hunts have on the environment. And I feel immense distress at knowing there will be ducks left in agony. Killing animals is not a “sport”. Killing animals should purely be for consumption, not for the thrill of the chase. Clay pigeon shooting, however, well, that’s really good fun.

What are your thoughts on hunting animals? Do you think the animals suffer?

Do you think the sport should be allowed to continue? Or do you think duck hunting should be banned? 

Have a fab day,

Bianca xx

 

Main photo: Animals Australia

  • Emma

    I might be wrong here, but didn’t Victoria ban duck seaon & then bring it back in again in the last couple of years? Why bow to the pressure of a few people who seem to think killing defenceless animals as sport is fun? How would these hunters feel if we decided to have a dog hunting season & their pet was shot? I cannot fathom how they think this is a fun thing to do! 

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      I put it in the same league as steeple chases. Animals being used for sport which may end in their death is just awful x

    • KEM

       I believe (and am happy to stand corrected if needs be) that the duck season was banned due to the drought.  This season there has been so much rain that the ducks are experiencing  bumper breeding conditions and may in fact be likely to overpopulate their habitats.
      Shooting for sport should be done only on closed ranges at targets. Genuine hunters do not take as many as they can get, they take only what they need to feed their family. Anyone who is not a vegetarian is responsible for the death of an defenceless animal.  Let s/he who has not sinned cast the first stone.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donna-Ireland/100001898961711 Donna Ireland

    The only ducks that need to be shot are the ones who post those ridiculous photo’s of themselves on facebook. You know, the horrible self-portrait duck face pout …

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      That’s so funny!

  • KEM

    There is a difference between shooting for “sport” and hunting for food.  Responsible hunters sight their targets, take only clear shots and have to pass a test demonstrating their ability to identify at a distance the species of duck that they are legally allowed to hunt. Animals taken responsibly by hunters for personal consumption do not suffer.  Ethical hunters do not approve of “sporting shooters” leaving injured animals to die slowly.

    Animals bred for the table and kept in artificial conditions that are usually cramped and unsanitary suffer more during their short lives in captivity than animals that live naturally in the wild and die quickly and humanely at the hands of a skilled hunter.  They would in most cases be taked violently by a natural predator (native or feral).  Do not believe for a second that animals in the wild live an idyllic life and die comfortably at a ripe old age.

    Nature is what it is, and any person who is not a vegetarian, vegan, etc is eating every day animals that died at the hands of a human one way or another.  Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      I agree with you. As I said, I have no issue with people hunting ethically for food. 

      I am not in support of people hunting for sport.