news, local-news, duck hunting, tower hill, andy meddick

DUCK hunting season opened earlier this month, prompting condemnation from a Western District politician. Animal Justice Party member Andy Meddick said shooting ducks was "massively cruel". Mr Meddick said he stood on the front line with rescuers on the opening weekend of the season and followed that up by calling on a ban of the practice. "Hunters do not always kill for food," he said. "A lot of these people kill for fun - it's called recreational shooting for a reason." Mr Meddick said it was baffling that places which attracted visitors most of the year, such as Tower Hill, became shooting fields during duck hunting season. "We make these places havens for wildlife and yet for three months of the year we say it's OK to go out there and kill them," he said. "The people who would normally go there are avoiding it for three months of the year - they don't want to expose their children to it." Mr Meddick said he would do everything in his power to put an end to the cruelty of duck hunting. "After countless years of pulling injured ducks out of the water, years of witnessing firsthand the blatant disregard for the suffering inflicted on these bids, enough is enough," he said. The season opened on March 16 and there are a number of new laws hunters have to obey. Game Management Authority chief executive officer Graeme Ford said the daily duck per day bag limit was five but had been four on the opening weekend. "A number of wetlands across the state have been closed or further regulated to protect or prevent disturbance to significant numbers of threatened birds and the hunting of the Blue-winged Shoveler will be prohibited," Mr Ford said. Hunting is permitted half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, with the season closing half an hour after sunset on May 19. "Hunters are also reminded they are required to immediately retrieve any ducks they shoot and ensure they harvest at least the breast meat from the duck to ensure that harvested game is not wasted," Mr Ford said. "This is already standard practice for the majority of responsible hunters." Mr Ford said anyone flouting the laws could face fines of up to $38,000, jail terms, loss of Game and Firearms licences and their firearms. He also reminded protesters to act in a safe and responsible manner. Colac's Mark Colbourne has been hunting for 40 years and supports duck hunting. He said he no longer hunts ducks, but that's purely because he doesn't like the taste. "I don't believe duck hunting is a sport," Mr Colbourne said. "As far as I'm aware no one goes out there to shoot a duck and leave it there." Mr Colbourne said he would be disappointed if duck hunting was banned. He believes hunters should be allowed to shoot ducks year-round. Mr Colbourne said he believes this would help address the issue of a flurry of hunters heading to the same spots in the first few weeks of the season. In the south-west, hunting from boats on Lake Bolac is prohibited. However, hunters are permitted to use non-motorised boats to retrieve downed birds hunted from the shoreline. At Tower Hill, the western half of the lake is closed to hunting but the eastern half remains open. Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.

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