New rules released for the upcoming duck hunt season have riled the passions of shooters and animal rights activists alike, both of whom are disappointed by the changes.
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The most contentious of the Game Management Authority’s updated regulations is a delay in start times on the opening weekend of the season.
While hunting will be permitted from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset for most of the season, the GMA has ordered a 9am start on Saturday, March 17.
The next day will see hunting commence at 8am.
The changes are in response to what GMA chairman Brian Hine called “entirely unacceptable behaviour” during last year’s opening weekend, including early shooting, shooting of protected species and failing to retrieve shot birds.
But Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting spokeswoman Kerrie Allen, whose group lobbied for a ban on hunting, said the change was insufficient to protect birds from harm.
“We see this as an abhorrent disregard for wildlife, a despicable lack of consideration for rate paying rural communities whose lives are significantly and adversely affected,” she said.
She also raised concerns about disruptions and noise pollution caused by gunfire during the three-month season.
State upper house MP Daniel Young, from the Hunters and Fishers party was also angered by the change, believing a shift the start time closer to 10am when protesters were allowed to enter wetlands was “a knee-jerk reaction” and “a recipe for disaster”.
“The traditional times allowed hunters to go in without interference and plenty of time to bag their limit for the day,” he said.
“There is no justification for the new opening time because it does not solve any perceived issues.”
RSPCA Victoria chief executive officer Liz Walker said her organisation was also in favour of a hunting ban in 2018, as well as a reduction in the bag limit for each hunter.
Dr Walker believed these measures would enable game bird populations to adequately recover.
The GMA heeded neither of the recommendations.