Wendy et al,
I would say that the local Police were well aware that shooting is not
allowed in a sanctuary, but chose to turn a blind eye, as they do have
discretionary powers as to whether they take action in the case of any
breach of the law, as do all law enforcement agencies. I would imagine
that the police were more likely on the side of the hunters than the
ducks. Perhaps a bit of publicity in the local paper about the
incident combined with letters of protest setting out the facts of the
matter to relevant authorities would aid in the education of the local
Police. I would suggest writing to the Minister for Police, the
Commisioner of Police, the Police Local Area Commander, the Minister
responsible for Melbourne Water, the CEO of Melbourne Water and the
Minister responsible for and the CEO of DSE. The letters should not be
emotive, but politely set out the facts and ask why the hunters were
allowed to into a Ramsar listed Sanctuary with a high international
profile.
I have used such a multi-pronged letter writing campaign with great
success several times in the past. The impact of the letters is even
better if they are hand written.
I strongly urge that the matter be pursued, as if the hunting lobby
gets wind of the incident (if they do not already know of it), they
may use it as the thin end of the wedge of a campaign to allow hunting
in parts of the WTP.
Carl Clifford
On 05/05/2009, at 12:35 PM, Wendy wrote:
I would also be concerned that local Victoria Police would
not know shooting is not allowed in a Wildlife Sanctuary.
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