Ken said;
Just to clarify one point I was not suggesting there should be an open
season for duck-shooting this year with the birds concentrated on the few
wetlands that are holding on in the drought. I agree that it is totally
reasonable and desirable that this year there be no open season on
conservation grounds. -----snip
** Thanks for clearing that up. I believe most of your fellow shooters in
Victoria would seem to disagree with you - which says a lot about Victorian
duck shooters. **
Karen Pearson in her reply stated that duck-shooting is a recreational
activity, interestingly enough that is just how fishing is described so
please show me how there is significant difference in a hunter shooting a
duck to eat or a fisherman taking a fish to eat.
**Easy; The below is the difference between recreational duck shooting and
a recreational fisherman taking a fish to eat.
>From www.rspca.org.au
I've picked bits out but the whole page is worth reading - go to Campaigns -
duck shooting.
Particularly the RSPCA Inspectors findings - just exactly as I saw things
(and worse) on Lake Cowal NSW 1992/93
"Why is duck shooting so cruel?"
"In order for duck shooting to be humane, all ducks shot would have to be
killed outright by the hunter*. This is not the case. Some ducks are brought
down and killed by the hunter on retrieval, usually by wringing the neck.
Others are crippled (brought down but not retrieved) and these may die
within hours, days or weeks of being shot. Other ducks will be wounded but
will fly on. Some ducks will escape unscathed."
"Why are so many ducks wounded?"
"Because limitations in the way shotguns operate make it impossible to
ensure that a duck is killed outright, even by a skilled marksman. There is
a high level of cruelty in duck hunting that cannot be eliminated unless the
practice is banned."
"Ducks need to be struck by three to eight pellets for a relatively quick
kill, depending on the size of the pellets. A hunter will usually have to
fire between four and ten shots for each duck they kill. These shots will be
aimed at a number of ducks, only one of which will be downed and
(eventually) bagged (Sanderson & Bellrose 1986: Victorian DCE 1991)."
"An estimate of wounding rates has been calculated using a computer model
of which simulated the effects of a hunter shooting at a duck. Unlike the
previous methods discussed, this accounts for all wounding, not just
crippled ducks that are downed but not retrieved. "
"The study analysed hunters' hit rates to determine the level of wounding
and calculated that a shooter who takes on average 6 shots to kill a bird (a
conservative estimate compared to published studies) would wound between 60
and 120 ducks for every 100 bagged. Overall the study concluded that most
competent shooters will wound at least one duck for every duck bagged
(Russell 1994a, b)." **
I promise not to preach anymore on this topic in the short term.
Regards
Ken Grinter
Rgds
Karen Pearson
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
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