Australia: Opponents shoot down duck hunting report as failure

Duck hunters have been given the green light to keep shooting birds in South Australia, despite claims it is inhumane, threatens endangered species and goes against community expectations. The RSPCA has slammed a report by a South Australian parliamentary committee into the hunting of native birds, tabled on Thursday. Its findings “fail animal welfare, fail conservation and fail to meet our community’s expectations for the protection of vulnerable wildlife,” RSPCA SA animal welfare advocate Rebekah Eyers said. “We estimate up to 10,000 of the approximately 45,000 ducks shot in SA each year will be wounded and left to suffer,” she said. “Seeing a hunter swing a wounded duck around by the neck and then dump it on a pile of shot ducks whilst still alive is a horror that I will never forget.” The latest Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey found several native bird species were experiencing significant long-term decline, despite recent wetter La Nina conditions. Eyers said there was no ...