The SA Greens are urging the Minister for Police to alert SAPOL to footage of duck hunters consuming alcohol on the first weekend of the 2024 Open Season on Native Ducks and Birds.
Yesterday, Tammy Franks MLC, the Greens Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, asked the Minister for Police what had been done to investigate and pursue reports of hunters carrying alcohol and guns, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 or imprisonment for two years under the Firearms Act.
These reports coincide with footage of hunters ‘wind milling’ injured birds. The 2024 Open Season for Native Ducks and Birds will run from 16 March to 30 June.
Quotes attributable to Tammy Franks MLC:
“The recent inquiry into duck hunting in this state should have put duck hunters on notice that windmilling is contrary to the Animal Welfare Act, that they were being observed last Saturday and Sunday out on Lake George and elsewhere, and that this behaviour of potentially drinking alcohol while hunting native animals does run contrary to the Animal Welfare Act"
“Duck hunting is nothing but recreational cruelty. Why the Malinauskas Government would continue to perpetuate a so-called sport that causes suffering for animals is beyond me. Duck hunting is a relic of our past and it should stay there.”
“Duck shooters use spray pellets which can often harm or maim birds without killing them. The ‘lucky ducks’ are the ones that die quickly — many other birds die a slow, painful death over several hours or even days.