Despite an incredibly small number of active shooters in the Donald district over the five days of the 2023 Victorian duck opening season, protected and threatened native waterbird species were yet again illegally shot and left to suffer and die on the wetlands. Coalition Against Duck Shooting rescuers recovered around 100 wounded or dead birds, including threatened and protected species such as Australasian Blue-winged Shovelers, Hardheads, and a Freckled Duck, mainly from Lake Wooroonook near the northwestern town of Donald.
A Wildlife Victoria veterinarian team was on site to x-ray all birds recovered and treat the wounded.
Duck shooters once again demonstrated blatant disregard for the illegal shooting of threatened and protected species.
The Game Management Authority (GMA) has again failed to protect our threatened species.
Campaign Director, Laurie Levy today asked: “Why did the Game Management Authority again allow duck shooters onto a wetland with threatened species when they were aware there is a very high risk of these birds being illegally shot? And if the GMA didn’t know threatened species were present, why didn’t they know?
“The recreational shooting of native waterbirds must be abolished,” Levy said.
“The GMA enthusiastically concentrated on prosecuting volunteers who were rescuing wounded native waterbirds, instead of working to ensure threatened species weren’t shot,” Levy concluded.
