The Victorian Game Management Authority (GMA) has released the results of Victoria’s first statewide survey of Stubble Quail. The results, (considered by the researchers to be an under-estimate) show that there are at least 3.1 million Stubble Quail in Victoria. The long-term average recreational harvest of Stubble Quail is 155 thousand. This puts the annual harvest at less than 5% of the population, with the GMA concluding that “the results of this research suggest that Stubble Quail are not currently at risk of overharvesting due to hunting”.
The survey was conducted in January 2022, at 54 randomly selected Stubble Quail habitat sites including native tussock grasslands, dryland crops, non-native pasture, and seasonal wetlands.
Wildlife ecologists walked more than 200km of transects on public and private land to estimate quail numbers at each site.
This survey was conducted as a trial for an ongoing monitoring program to ensure the long-term sustainability of Victoria’s Stubble Quail population.
The Victorian Government’s Sustainable Hunting Action Plan (SHAP) 2021 – 2024 commits to undertaking ongoing quail abundance monitoring. This survey is a key milestone in the delivery of the new abundance monitoring program.
The survey was conducted by experienced independent ecologists from Wildlife Unlimited Pty Ltd. The Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research undertook the data analysis and prepared the Abundance Estimates for Stubble Quail in Victoria report.