Hi,
I was wondering what people think / feel / know about recreational shooting of NSW waterbirds?
When I say recreational shooting, that’s what it of course is. But it is being politically disguised under the “pest management” banner by the O’Farrell government. They’re calling it a cull! Yet they have now added the pink-eared duck to the hit list. Despite the fact they are claiming they are doing this cull for the rice and grain farmers (claiming the birds eat their crops), yet the pink-eared duck eats insects, not grains.
For more on the latest from the O’Farrell government giving in to every desire of the 2 Upper House NSW Shooters MP’s, see: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/duck-season-puts-ofarrell-in-crosshairs-20130621-2onxa.html
I’m very interested in people’s thoughts and comments on this topic.
My interest in this is that I care deeply for all animals, and will fight to the death for them. I’ve been going down to Victoria for many years to protect and rescue our native water birds during the annual duck shooting season. However, the state of things in NSW is quite possibly a whole lot worse, as it takes place on private property all year round, where it can’t be monitored. I’ve heard terrible stories of as many as 3000 birds being killed (I hate to think how many were not killed outright, but seriously wounded) in a single days shooting on a single property. But no one aside from the shooters and farmers really knows exactly what’s going on…and they’re certainly not telling. I’d appreciate the thoughts and knowledge of people in the bird loving community.
Yesterday I was looking at huge flocks of ducks of various species at Fivebough Swamp – every now and again a White-bellied Sea-eagle flew low over the swamp, putting the assorted 1000s of duck to flight – while they were stitting on the water, even at a considerable distance, it was pretty simple to pick the pink-eared ducks, the shovellers, the grey teal etc, but in flight, with them all flying in a panic, it was not nearly so easy, so I imagine a shooter, even one with OK ID skills if looking at pics on a page, would not be able to tell one from the other when there’s a large group in the air. (The sea-eagle was being harrassed by 2 whistling kites, and a swamp harrier was also cruising around, so the ducks were all a bit nervous) for anyone thinking of going to Fivebough – still lots of water, good views since lots of cumbungi died down in last year’s floods, paths now accessible. Lots of red-necked avocets, black-winged stilts, pelicans, swans, a few yellow-billed spoonbills, black-fronted and red-kneed dotterels. didn’t see a brolga though, which have been there in numbers recently. The sewage ponds I looked at had good numbers of chestnut teal and hoary-headed grebes, and approx. 500 purple swamphens sitting in the vegetation along the edges of the ponds – several per square metre of veg. I’ve never seen so many swamphens crowded in together. sandra henderson
On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 11:30 AM, Neville Schrader OAM < nschrader@bigpond.com> wrote:
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It appears the politicians might be a little embarrassed or just plain ignorant, as I can’t get a reply to my correspondence in relation to the pink-eared Duck.
Neville
Well looking at some of the results from Victoria I suspect the saying should be modified to something like “if it moves and is near water then it is probably a duck”, shoot it.
Andrew
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Yes that is obviously what I am suggesting. I wonder if you are asking in a sarcastic way. It is easy for someone who knows the birds to say that a species is distinctive. Yes they are. If you care. If you are experienced. Every duck species has features on which it can be identified. There is surely a huge range of skills in the shooting fraternity, just as there is among us. There is the saying “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is a duck” and that will be the level of interest to many people.
Philip
They probably look for the pink ear! Denise
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Your confidence in the test is less than mine Peter. Only 75% success required. In other words misidentification is allowed in one in four cases, kind of anticipates failures of identification perhaps?
cheers
Peter Valentine
On 26/06/2013, at 8:53 AM, Peter Shute wrote:
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Philip, are you suggesting that shooters might have trouble recognising a Pink-eared Duck? I would have thought there were few ducks that were so distinctive. In Victoria at least, shooters have to pass an identification test.
Peter Shute
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Hi Erica
It is dismal. At the risk of being political, below is part of an email from the National Parks Association (a not for profit group, not associated with the government National Parks) showing that at least there is some opposition and that other groups care about the pink-eared ducks in NSW!
Chris
“In the last two years, the NSW government has made a series of alarming environmental decisions that seriously threaten the future of our national parks and wildlife. Many of these decisions are based on political deals made with the Shooters and Fishers Party, rather than credible scientific evidence.
Nothing illustrates this quite as clearly as the case of the Pink-eared Duck< http://npansw.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=42506f0673a573cdc6034c9ec&id=6808d64a1c&e=30cd68c91f>. This beautiful Australian bird has recently been added to the list of native game species that can be legally hunted on private land in NSW. According to the Legislation, ducks can only be shot for the purposes of ‘sustainable agricultural management’, primarily to protect rice crops. However, the scientific literature indicates that the Pink-eared Duck is an insect eater and doesn’t consume rice or other crops. In reality the Pink-eared Duck serves as a farmer’s friend, preying on insects that are major rice pests. If left unharmed this unique little duck could even help reduce pesticide use on these crops.
Based on the species feeding habits, the NPA provided evidence for a recent private member’s Bill calling for Pink-eared Ducks to be removed from the list of native game birds. However, despite clear scientific evidence that the decision to cull this species is fatally flawed, the government will not support the Bill, claiming that the Pink-eared Duck associate with other waterfowl species that do harm crops. So for no other reason than that they “hang out” with the wrong crowd the government has made it legal to shoot this unique native species.
We use this example to highlight how bad recent environmental decisions have been in NSW and why we fear for the future. If this was not ominous enough a serious new threat is now emerging out of the recent inquiry into the management of public lands, chaired by Shooters and Fishers MLC Robert Brown, whose recommendations include opening national parks to logging, and imposing a moratorium on the creation of new national parks.
With the help of our supporters, NPA has been driving a successful high profile campaign against hunting in national parks that has helped delay the start of the program. However, as you have just read hunting is no longer the only major threat our parks and environment face and we need to broaden our campaign to tackle these new, emerging dangers.
*Please make a donation and help us to protect our national parks **and unique species, such as the Pink-eared Duck, for future generations to enjoy.”*
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