news, local-news, bendigo, lola currie, fga, ducks, duck hunting, shooting, hunting

DUCK hunters and rescuers are gearing up for the opening of the Victorian duck hunting season tomorrow. The season opens at 7.20am in central Victoria. Shooters are permitted to take a maximum of 10 ducks on opening day, after which bag limits are reduced to five birds. Bendigo animal welfare activist Lola Currie, 21, will be out at the duck hunting sites rescuing injured birds. The final year nursing student said a mobile vet clinic would be on site to treat downed ducks. She said the rescuers were not there to cause trouble. "We're not going out there to protest, we're going to help the birds," she said. "The people who do this are very brave and dedicated - the last place they want to be is out there," she said. Ms Currie said she believed duck hunting was "brutal and unsustainable". The Victorian government has reduced bag limits for duck shooters this year in response to drought and declining waterbird numbers. Ms Currie called on agriculture minister Jaala Pulford to put an end to recreational duck hunting. "This is a brutal sport and it's outdated," she said. RSPCA Victoria says one out of every four waterbirds shot "dies a slow and agonising death". "Increasing the fines for the rescuers isn't going to stop us from protecting our native wildlife," Ms Currie said. Both hunters and anti-duck shooting activists face steep penalties for breaching regulations. Australia's peak hunting body Field and Game Australia disputes claims duck shooting is damaging to the waterfowl population and says hunters help to maintain wetland biodiversity. FGA general manager David McNabb said University of New England Associate Professor Graham Hall will attend Victorian duck hunting sites on the season's opening day with FGA representatives to gather data for his research into duck populations. The research focuses on trends in hybridisation, range of travel, and age and gender distribution. “A primary objective of FGA is to preserve, restore, develop and maintain waterfowl habitat in Australia,” Mr McNabb said. “Our members have recognised the desperate need to take a pro-active approach to ensure Australia's wetlands continue to be preserved and maintained well in to the future.” Bendigo's hunting stores reported a slight surge in business as shooters prepare themselves for the season.

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