It’s time to ban native bird hunting in Victoria.

BirdLife Australia remains deeply concerned with the Victorian Government’s ongoing support for unsustainable recreational native bird hunting.   

Australian waterbirds are already on the brink. Recreational hunting adds an unnecessary pressure to waterbird populations. The annual  Eastern Australian Waterbird Surveys show waterbird populations have declined as much as 90% over the last forty years across eastern Australia.  

While threatened species like the Freckled Duck and Australasian Shoveller are protected species, they are often illegally shot as part of the duck shooting season.

The impacts extend beyond the birds that are hunted. Disturbance of wetlands can disrupt critical Brolga flocking, destroy breeding sites for spoonbills and herons, and depletes the energy of migratory shorebirds forced to flee instead of preparing for epic journeys.    

The imminent arrival of H5 bird flu means that Australia needs to bolster waterbird populations, not decimate them with recreational hunting.

Recreational native bird hunting in Victoria must end if we are serious about protecting threatened species and restoring native waterbird populations to healthy levels in eastern Australia.  

BirdLife Australia urges the Allan Government to ban recreational bird hunting once and for all, following both the 2023 Parliamentary Inquiry recommendations, the science, and a clear public majority opposed to this unsustainable practice.