Victoria’s Game Stubble Quail open season ends at half an hour after sunset this evening.
The Stubble Quail is the only native quail season that can be legally hunted in Victoria, with hunters taking around 175,000 birds for the table every year.
The 2022 season opened in April and, for the first time, the use of electronic callers was prohibited this year after the Game Management Authority (GMA) received the results of research that found that their use significantly increased the abundance/density of quail in the vicinity of the activated caller. The research also showed electronic quail callers concentrated Stubble Quail into a very localised area around the caller. The GMA took the view that, given those results, if their use becomes widespread, this may run the risk of the species being overharvested. The long-term use of these devices will be considered in more detail during the review of the Wildlife (Game) Regulations which will take into account all the costs and benefits through a process of public consultation.
Another Research Article was recently published on Stubble Quail, examining lead ammunition residues in hunted birds in Victoria. That research involved co-authors from the University of Melbourne, The GMA and two overseas institutions. The conclusions from that research are clear. “The use of lead shot for stubble quail hunting presents avoidable health risks to both people and wildlife which could be eliminated through a transition to lead-free shot as is increasingly happening in other jurisdictions and has already occurred in Victoria for game ducks”. SSAA Victoria has raised some concerns with the GMA and others about this finding and its potential implications.
SSAA Victoria consistently advocates that any potential changes to regulations must only be made in consideration of a broad and credible body of evidence, must properly consider the availability and suitability of alternatives and must, ultimately, include a reasonable phase-in period and compensation for any genuine loss.
