SSAA Victoria News
Compliance data shows a rapid increase in protestor offending
Victoria’s Game Management Authority has published compliance data from the first five days of the 2024 Victorian game duck season. The data shows a generally excellent level of hunter compliance, with no hunters exceeding their daily bag limit down from one last year. It also shows an...
READ MOREWetland closures for 2024
Today, the Victorian Government gazetted wetland closures ahead of the 2024 Victorian duck season, which will commence on Wednesday. Hunters can stay informed about wetland closures via the Game Management Authority website and read more information in the Government Media Release. The reality is...
READ MORECall for hunters to assist with Stubble Quail research
Victoria’s game quail hunting season opens this Saturday, 6 April 2024. The Game Management Authority (GMA) is appealing to quail hunters to assist with a research project identifying the age and sex of hunter-harvested Stubble Quail. As part of the program, licensed quail hunters mail harvested...
READ MOREScientific advisory committee recommends the removal of Hardhead from the threatened species list.
Victoria's Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has recommended removing Hardhead (Aythya australis) from the State's Threatened Species List. A de-listing would clear the way for Hardhead to return to the list of game ducks that can be hunted. Hardhead were listed as vulnerable in 2013 on the basis...
READ MOREVictorian shooters in solidarity with bowhunters over the border
Victoria’s leading shooting body has slammed a decision by the South Australian Government to ban bowhunting. SSAA Victoria says it is speaking out because “bad ideas have a nasty habit of crossing borders”. SSAA Victoria’s Hunting Development Manager David Laird labelled the ban a...
READ MOREWIT and Hound Tests, Hog Deer Tags, Hound Registration – Preparation for the 2024 game hunting seasons
With a clear path forward for duck hunting, abundant duck, quail and deer resources and the main game hunting seasons just around the corner, there has never been a better time to join the great outdoor adventure that is game hunting in Victoria. Before you can hunt ducks or hunt sambar deer with...
READ MOREWorking proactively to secure hunting opportunities – baiting to be suspended for duck season
Challenges to hunting access can take many forms. SSAA Victoria has recently worked with Parks Victoria to ensure that key wetlands will be accessible to hunters with retrieving dogs for the forthcoming Victorian duck season. Last week, a member informed SSAA Victoria of 1080 baiting notifications...
READ MOREA path forward for duck and quail hunting
The Victorian Government’s decision to continue with native bird hunting under new rules has met approval from the state’s leading shooting body. SSAA Victoria Hunting Development Manager David Laird said, “We are reassured that the government has listened to the evidence and committed to a...
READ MORETonnes of venison going to food charities in New Zealand, why can’t we do it here?
Nelson, New Zealand Local media in the South Island City of Nelson, New Zealand, report that local deer hunters have donated over one tonne of venison to local food charities in under eighteen months. The local New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) branch organises the program. SSAA and NZDA...
READ MOREFebruary park closures for aerial deer culling
Parks Victoria has advised that the parts of the Alpine National Park and the Mt Buffalo National Park will be closed from 5 – 9 February 2024 while aerial shooting operations targeting deer are undertaken. In the Alpine National Park, the following tracks and visitor areas will be...
READ MORERSPCA tries to hoodwink Victorian MPs
RSPCA Victoria has joined other animal rights organisations today, pushing out data that falsely infers that banning duck hunting would somehow be a political winner for the Government. In 2016, in the wake of a scathing independent review of RSPCA Victoria's operations, their CEO, Dr Liz Walker,...
READ MORESlow news week? It’s time for another anti-gun beat-up!
SSAA Victora has seen news reports overnight and this morning once again misrepresenting Australia's firearm laws and seeking to alarm the community. The agenda of the anti-gun movement is clear. They oppose private firearm ownership and want politicians to ignore all of the data and evidence and...
READ MOREFighting to save public land access for outdoor recreation
Today’s Weekly Times includes opinion pieces from SSAA Victoria and the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) about a proposed large new National Park on Melbourne’s doorstep. The so-called “Great Forest National Park” proposal would see around 300,000ha of forest in the Victorian...
READ MORESpecial edition of ‘Wildlife Research’ journal on wild deer
The prestigious Australian academic journal, ‘Wildlife Research’ recently published a special issue dedicated to the Ecology and Management of Wild Deer in Australia. The special issue was edited by experienced deer researchers Dr David Forsyth, Dr Tony Pople and Dr Graham Nugent and was...
READ MOREPara Park junior ballot provides unique opportunities
Since 1965, Sunday Island, in Corner Inlet on the South Gippsland Coast, has been owned and managed by the Para Park Co-Operative Game Reserve (Para Park), primarily for managing and hunting the wild hog deer population. Para Park sets an annual harvest quota for the wild deer on the Island to...
READ MORECabinet reshuffle cause for some optimism
The new Victorian Premier has today announced the shape of her new cabinet. Anthony Carbines will continue in the Police portfolio. This is an important portfolio for shooters as the regulation of firearms falls under its remit. SSAA Victoria enjoys a solid working relationship with Minister...
READ MORE2023 SSAA Victoria Board Election results announced
The 2023 SSAA Victoria board election results were announced today at the Association’s Annual General Meeting. Nine candidates contested the election for four available positions on the board. The Association’s Junior Vice President Josh Knight was returned to the board, as was former...
READ MORESelect Committee caught out relying on evidence proven to be false
The Select Committee on Victoria’s Recreational Native Bird Hunting Arrangements received a record number of submissions and heard around twenty-five hours of evidence in public hearings. Touting his report in a social media video, the Committee Chair made a point of melodramatically thumbing a...
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