birding-aus

Duck Shooting at the Western Treatment Plant

To: albatross valdez <>, "" <>
Subject: Duck Shooting at the Western Treatment Plant
From: Peter Shute <>
Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 16:32:49 +1000
I hope so.  I feel a bit silly applying and paying for an access permit and 
key, attending inductions, etc, for fear of being caught in there illegally, 
only to have other people come in whenever they like, cut vegetation for 
camouflage and actually shoot birds without any fear of being caught.

Peter Shute

-----Original Message-----
From:  
 On Behalf Of albatross valdez
Sent: Tuesday, 5 May 2009 1:34 PM
To: 
Cc: 
Subject: Duck Shooting at the Western Treatment Plant

I was on an open day bus tour at WTP on Sunday , with a biologist from their 
conservation team on board giving us a talk.
I raised with him the reported incident with the duck shooters the day before 
and he said that technicaly they can be on the foreshore and shoot out to sea 
but that they had tresspassed through the sanctuary with their firearms, which 
are banned anywhere in WTP,in order to get to where they set up to shoot.
Hopefully WTP will take up the tresspass issue with firearms with the Police.

David Richardson

On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 7:38 PM, <> wrote:

> The loophole, i asumme, is that they are on the foreshore, shooting
> outwards over the bay.
>
>
>
>
> "Wendy" <>
> Sent by: 
> 05/05/2009 12:34 PM
>
> To
> <>, <> cc
>
> Subject
> Re: [Birding-Aus] Duck Shooting at the Western Treatment Plant
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thankyou Paul for informing us of this and for your actions at the time.
> I have no doubt others are following this up officially.
> I was rather alarmed and surprised by the implications that this was
> officially sanctioned, although I thought Melbourne Water, not DSE
> were the managing body. I would also be concerned that local  Victoria
> Police would not know shooting is not allowed in a Wildlife Sanctuary.
> There are signs around the adjoining  Farm saying "No Shooting" surely
> it is the same for the WTP?!
>
> Here are some extracts from their (MW) and other websites:- "Waterfowl
> The Western Treatment Plant is an important refuge for waterfowl
> during drought and the duck hunting season."
> Source:
>
> http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/sewerage/western_treatment_pl
> ant/bird_species.asp
>
>
>
> "? The Western Treatment Plant is a declared Wildlife Sanctuary.
> Hunting, disturbing, capturing or destroying animals and birds is
> strictly prohibited.
>
> "? Carrying of firearms or crossbows on a Sanctuary is an offence and
> persons shooting on land used for primary production are liable for
> prosecution under the Firearms Act and forfeiture of firearms.
>
> "? Dogs, cats and other domestic pets are not permitted on site. "
> Source:
>
> http://www.melbournewater.net/content/library/sewerage/western_treatme
> nt_plant/bird_watching_and_fishing/bird_watching_pack/bird_conditions_
> and_hazards.pdf
>
>
> "There are rare birds, migratory birds, and thousands of ducks and
> wading birds that use Lake Borrie and the adjacent wetland habitats.
> ...... Birds like the Pink Eared Duck and the Chestnut Teal come here
> as a safe haven in the duck season. No shooting is allowed. "
> http://www.csiro.au/promos/ozadvances/Series16Wetlands.htm
>
> Wendy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>



<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU