Submissions are now in for the Select Committee Inquiry into Victoria’s recreational native bird hunting arrangements.
The response from the hunting community has been fantastic, with large numbers of hunters demonstrating to the committee the depth of passion there is for our way of life.
SSAA Victoria’s submission makes a clear and detailed case for the continuation of duck and quail hunting in Victoria. It addresses the three key political questions on which the future of duck and quail hunting hinges:
- Animal welfare
- Sustainability
- Public opinion (votes)
The people who oppose our interests often get away with making unsupported claims and peddling their opinions as facts. At SSAA Victoria, we understand that every claim that we make will be subject to questioning and scrutiny; that is why, in our submission, the Association does not make any claims that are not supported by a credible and relevant reference. If we say something, we have an independent expert to back us up. Where there was a gap in reliable information, SSAA Victoria commissioned independent research to fill it.
The Association’s submission outlines:
- SSAA Victoria’s concerns about Government bias with regard to the inquiry
- The nature and motivations of hunters
- The conflicted roles of RSPCA Victoria
- The clear evidence that native bird hunting in Victoria is sustainable
- The Waterfowl Wounding Reduction Action Plan (and the Government’s suppression of it)
- Why it’s a myth that banning duck hunting would somehow be ‘progressive’
- How hunting is an appropriate use of Ramsar wetlands
- Why anti-hunting protestors need to be properly restricted
- How the opinion polls commissioned by the anti’s miss the point and how new research conducted for SSAA Victoria shows that a ban on duck hunting would be a political loser for Labor
- The economic case for hunting
The inquiry will now move into a public hearing phase where SSAA Victoria expects to be called to give evidence.
There will also be another call for action by hunters in the coming months. The fight to save duck and quail hunting in 2023 is only just beginning to heat up.
