SSAA Victoria urges members to support an amendment to the Victorian Wildlife Act that would triple the distances anti-hunting activists would be required to keep from licensed game hunters in the field.
The Victorian Parliament is currently debating a bill to amend the Wildlife Act that includes some minor amendments to the section relating to access to waterfowl hunting areas. Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP Jeff Bourman has indicated that he will be moving an amendment to that bill to amend section 58D of the Act to make protestors be at least 30 metres away from hunters instead of the current distance of 10 metres.
SSAA Victoria asks members to email their local MP to support Mr Bourman’s amendment.
For example, your email might state:
I am a hunter in the State of Victoria. I am aware that Jeff Bourman MP is moving an amendment to the Agriculture Amendment Bill to increase the public safety buffer zone between licensed game hunters and anti-hunting activists from 10 metres to 30 metres. In the interests of public safety, I am asking you to support Mr Bourman’s amendment.
To find your local Members of Parliament, CLICK HERE
The Association has seen comments suggesting that the distance should be further, which is valid. However, this is not a philosophical argument or some sort of negotiation. It is a binary choice between supporting 10 metres or 30 metres. In that choice, SSAA Victoria supports 30 metres. Politics, it is said, is the art of the possible.
SSAA Victoria’s position is that, whilst the Association supports the right to protest, that right does not extend to hindering or obstructing legal hunting. This is the position in law, as Section 58E of the Wildlife Act states that “A person must not interfere with, harass, hinder or obstruct a person who is engaged in hunting or taking game in accordance with the Act.” Section 58D is more effective because the test of the offence is objective, whilst to prove an offence under Section 58E, prosecutors must rely on more subjective evidence.
In recent years SSAA Victoria has been pleased to see an increase in the number of anti-hunting activists prosecuted by the Game Management Authority (GMA) for harassing, hindering and obstructing licensed game hunters.
Hunters should report all illegal hunting-related activity to the GMA online.
