I don’t even know where to begin… maybe I’ll start with the lone Australian Shelduck, two amazing women and a sea of feathers.
Last weekend we visited several lakes and wetlands in regional Victoria. For nine months of the year these are places of tranquility. I especially love sunrises as the bird life gradually wakens with soft sweet sounds and gentle preening. For the next three months these lakes will be places of horror from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. In fact they’ll be places of horror for 24 hours a day as although the shooting may stop at night the wetland wildlife has been traumatised and 25% of shot birds are not killed outright but are huddled, shaking and terrified among the reeds.
When we arrived at this lake a lone Australian Shelduck was standing at the edge of the water. It was the only bird in sight. Australian Shelduck (called Mountain Duck by shooters) are monogamous and usually seen in large family groups or massive flocks. I have never seen a lone shelduck before. It was ominous.
We couldn’t get to the shelduck to see if it was injured, instead we walked along the lakeside and came across a large feather pit. I’ve shared images of the feather pit first, don’t read on if you’d rather not see any graphic shots. I have seen many feather pits but I am still sickened by the sight of a sea of feathers, everywhere you look, all plucked from native birds that were contentedly living in their own places until shotguns shattered the peace.
These awesome rescuers saw signs of recent digging among the feathers (the sound of flies and the stench of rotting birds is seared into my memory) so they grabbed my shovel and uncovered the heads and bodies of many birds, mainly teal and Pacific Black Duck but also these three Australian Shelduck which hadn’t had any meat taken from them. The birds were completely whole, unbreasted, just killed and abandoned. This is illegal as well as immoral. Duck shooting is impossible to monitor for compliance. Shooters can shoot at almost 20,000 sites across Victoria and there are only a handful of compliance officers.
The lake was eerily quiet but I could imagine how it would have been when these birds were killed; the booming sound of shotguns, the fearful alarm calls of the birds and the joyful shouts of the shooters. I’ve heard it before.
The shelduck above were flying free at the Western Treatment Plant. They remind me of the duck ornaments my grandmother had hanging on her lounge room wall.
There is something so gentle-looking about ducks. Two of the usual ‘game’ species have been removed from the species shooters can kill this year, namely Hardhead and Australasian Shovelers (aka Blue-winged Shoveler). Despite this, Tash Bassett, Wildlife Victoria’s chief veterinarian, said that the first duck she treated this year was a female Australasian Shoveler – it didn’t survive. The body of a male shoveler was found nearby. Such an awful, unnecessary waste.
UNSW Professor Kingsford’s annual survey showed that waterbird numbers are horrendously low, approaching the millennium drought low, but a helicopter survey by the Game Management Authority said there are plenty to shoot. And Premier Daniel Andrews said some people like to play golf and others like to shoot ducks – if I was good at photoshop I’d create a picture of a golfer hitting the head of a Pink-eared Duck instead of a golf ball – there is no, no comparison.
I thought I’d finish this post with a sweet shot of a shelduck up-ending itself in shallow water. The green feather in this image echoes the feather in the second photograph of this post.
Happy birding, Kim
NB If you’d like to learn more about Victoria’s duck shooting season please visit posts in the favourites bar or use the search option. You could also use your search engine to find information about the Coalition Against Duck Shooting, and Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting. My thanks to everyone who has written to Daniel Andrews and others to implore them to permanently ban this archaic, cruel ‘sport’. My thanks also to the Labor politicians, and others, who are openly opposed to duck shooting.
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Thank you, Kim, for such a moving story and for your eloquent photos. Politically, the ducks are struggling. Half a dozen of Victoria’s Coalition MPs belong to shooting/hunting clubs (compared with none from Labor). The Nationals always want the shooting season announced earlier, with a bigger bag limit. But DA is a huge stumbling block. Good on the many Labor MPs who have gone public recently (The Age, 3 Sept 2022) to support a ban on duck shooting.
Thank you for your comment Joan, and thank you for sharing those figures. It beggars belief that anyone at all could condone such a cruel, unsustainable ‘sport’. I was stoked to see the list of MPs who’ve gone public, let’s hope the trend continues, quickly.
At our last Landcare meeting we received a request for interested people to help assess duck populations for the Game Management Authority . It was too late to apply by the time of our meeting . My suggestion was for all of us to apply next year count, if there is one , and then send in figures showing very few or no ducks in wetlands Maybe guerrilla action to defeat duck shooters and the GMA is the way . We should join and defeat them from inside . Political action has sadly failed to protect our native wildlife
What a shame your Landcare group missed the chance this year, Paul. I’m staggered that a season was permitted as there are so few ducks out there. Lake after lake was the same. Instead of counting birds in the hundreds and thousands I was peering through a long lens wondering whether it was 4 or 5 teal in the far distance. I think political action is working, more pollies are speaking out against duck shooting, but it’s painfully (sad word to use) slow for the wildlife, which continues to diminish. Good luck with whatever you decide to do to put an end to the carnage, Kim
I’m disappointed to hear such inhumane and uncaring words from our Premier. The cruel annual massacre of our beautiful water birds needs to stop immediately. It is a disgraceful and archaic practice.
It beggars belief doesn’t it, Elizabeth. I agree with you 100%, it is sickeningly disgraceful and archaic.
I was shocked that they declared a full 90 day season this year, just as there is so much momentum to ban it finally. It’s like there are just a few people who don’t care. I know from emailing parliamentarians that all sides of politics have many people who what to end this destruction. Just don’t know what will finally bring it to an end. Before all the ducks are killed.
So was I Glenn. Shocked and sickened. I think the decision stopped pretty much with DA. Anyone who equates playing golf with killing and maiming native wildlife doesn’t represent the majority of Victorians. It’s great that you’ve contacted so many politicians… we’ll get there eventually, hopefully without any of the species becoming extinct. It’s staggering that the conservation status of Hardhead and Australian Shovelers has taken them off the ‘game’ list, teal aren’t far behind, and yet the shooters don’t see any link.
Those women!!! I am incredulous that people go out there when the shooters are there. They are so brave when they stand up for the voiceless like they are doing. Massive thanks to them all for looking after the ducks.
I feel the same way Tess, they are remarkable, as are all the others who are out there in the thick of it.
Tears and ballistic rage. And shame. So much shame.
I was hoping you wouldn’t see this post EC, even more than I was hoping you would see last week’s fairywren. I wish I could have posted them the other way around but that was obviously impossible
Thank you for being there to document this senseless and abhorrent waste of our beautiful native waterbirds. Dan Andrews is utterly on the nose with his archaic attitudes to wildlife and animal welfare.
And way more importantly, thank you for all you do. I agree with you about DA’s archaic attitudes to wildlife… it’s good that so many of his colleagues have spoken out, it’s a crying shame he didn’t listen.