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RSPCA hits out at duck shooting
‘Starting tomorrow, for three months, people will be allowed to enter Tasmania’s precious wetlands and blast various species of ducks out of the sky’, said President Dr Paul Swiatkowski. ’Other states and territories have recognised the fragility of duck populations and banned this cruel slaughter, but not Tasmania. Most notably, the then Premier of Queensland said, on banning duck hunting back in 2006, that this was not “part of contemporary society in the smart state”’.
Shooters may only use shotguns to shoot at ducks. Each shot sends a spray of pellets towards the target, the spray disperses and pellets hitting the targeted duck may kill it. Often, the duck is only wounded, and if badly injured it will fall suddenly and land heavily in the water, if the injury is lesser it may fly on for some distance. Statistics show that shooters nearly always need multiple shots to kill outright, up to ten shots, or they may retrieve the duck with dogs then wring the bird’s neck. For every duck killed and retrieved, others may escape wounded to die later from injuries, or starvation.
Dr Swiatkowski says that monitoring duck shooting is notoriously poor, in terms of bag limits, and with non-target species often being casualities.
‘But the bottom line is that it is a cruel and unnecessary activity, and not the kind of ‘sport’ we want to see encouraged in Tasmania’, he concluded.