Muttonbirds
Help us ban muttonbird hunting
Muttonbirds, whose proper name is short-tailed shearwater, are subject to both recreational and commercial hunting in Tasmania. The RSPCA believes that the hunt in Tasmania is both cruel and unsustainable for this fragile species.
Shearwaters are migratory birds who travel more than 30,000 kilometres in a round trip each year to breeding colonies, the majority of which are in Tasmania and its surrounding islands. There are about 209 such colonies. Because the shearwater is a migratory bird, it is also the subject of a joint protection project between Japan and Australia – the Japan Australia Migratory Birds Agreement.
Shearwaters are protected in other states of Australia, with significant fines for offenders. Victoria has not allowed a season on shearwater hunting for more than 30 years.
That notwithstanding, there is an open season on short tailed shearwaters in Tasmania between April 3 and April 16, 2010.
Anyone can apply and pay for a recreational shearwater (muttonbird) licence. Written guidelines exist for ‘humane’ killing, but in practice, chicks may be swung around the killer’s head until their neck breaks, or in some cases the chick’s heads are stomped on. Often, although it is illegal, long sharp hooks are used to haul them from their safe burrows.
The casualties of the hunting are the chicks, who are taken from their burrows in sand dunes along the coast of Tasmania. Shearwater chicks grow quickly and reach almost twice the weight of an adult before the parent birds move on to warmer climates. The chicks follow their parents 3 weeks later.
There is a bag limit of 25 chicks per day per person on the Furneaux, King Island and Hunter Groups, with a limit of 15 chicks on Tasmanian mainland colonies open for the season. This means that up to 400 chicks can be killed by one person per day during the season. Up to 200,000 chicks may be removed from their burrows by commercial season operators and sold. Illegal killing, or poaching is common.
The shearwaters do not breed until they are a minimum of five years of age. They only have one chick per year and only one third of chicks return to breed.
- Night-birding is prohibited (“night” is between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise).
- Pointed, sharpened, barbed or hook shaped or sharpened implements are prohibited.
- Dogs may not be used.
- Interfering with burrows during the closed season or without a licence during the open season is prohibited.
- Licences are issued to one person only. The taking of muttonbirds under another person’s licence (including family member) is illegal.
(From DPIPWE website)
There is no way of verifying the number of chicks reported killed by recreational hunters and it was only since the 2006 season that hunters were required to submit returns. The veracity of those returns cannot be confirmed.
The number of licences issued has been increasing in recent years. In addition poaching is a significant problem, which is difficult to police and usually happens under cover of darkness, so the real number of chicks killed may be substantially higher than legal figures would suggest.
Short-tailed shearwaters return to the same burrows year after year, and there is substantial damage to the burrows when chicks are removed. By admission of the Tasmanian Government, in documentation handed to those obtaining licences, shearwater hunting is causing significant habitat damage:
“Over the years there have been problems with amateur muttonbirding that have resulted in the closure of many colonies. These problems still continue on some of the colonies that are open.
“Colonies are located on fragile soils held together by vegetation that is vulnerable to disturbance. Many muttonbirders cause deliberate and permanent damage to individual burrows by digging them by hand or spade, or by ripping them open with their shoulders when attempting to get birds deep in burrows. Vegetation is also hacked or torn away. Damaged burrows are useless for birds to breed in the future.”