Ramsar sites: The impact of Victoria’s new game hunting regulations
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“The proposed Wildlife (Game) Regulations 2024 for recreational shooting follow Victoria's Inquiry into Recreational Native Bird Hunting Arrangements. Given the Select Committee’s advice was to ban it, we need to think very carefully about what happens next”. Peter Hylands
As a very rough calculation around 32 per cent of Victoria is public land, that is 7.3 million hectares (more if the marine estate is included). It appears that hunting on public land is occurring on around 18 per cent of Victoria’s land mass and 55 per cent of the public estate. From changes occurring regarding the commercial exploitation of protected wildlife on public land in Victoria in 2025 and other (for shooters) favourable changes to regulations, this is very likely going to increase, perhaps significantly. We will have to see. It should also be noted that hunting also occurs on private land, the scale increasing in 2014 and growing since, and this activity is now significant. It is likely that somewhere around 40 to 50 per cent of Victoria’s landmass is potentially a home to hunting activities involving both protected Australian species and animals from somewhere else, including deer species. These are conservative assessments.
Proposed changes to Victoria’s game regulations (for recreation) are occurring at the same time as significant boost in funding for the GMA and increasing capture of public lands by shooters, along with changes allowing the introduction of commercial exploitation of native species on public land, including state and national parks. While the latter change is not impacted by the proposed changes in recreational game shooting regulations, how all these changes will intersect in the future, given what has occurred in recent months in Victoria and the potential for further ‘tweaking’, needs to be monitored.
All this, as Australian species struggle to survive the hyper-seasonality that climate change brings.
“After years of saying the same thing, Ramsar sites in Victoria are still not signposted as Ramsar sites, instead the signs say game reserve and never a mention that they are Ramsar sites. The general public have little knowledge of these places and even that they exist at all. The state of Ramsar sites in Victoria, including the Kerang system, is also a disgrace, including the use of 1080 in these places”. Peter Hylands
Because they are game reserves, this means that any changes to the recreational shooting regulations in Victoria will have a direct impact on Ramsar sites in that state.
The proposed changes and weakening of the regulations that we like the least are:
- Extending the already dreadful capture of Ramsar sites by a destructive minority by extending the time that the public, described as non-authorised people by the Victorian Government, during the first week of duck shooting to 11 am each morning. This means there is no independent monitoring of what goes on and the results of this are likely to be catastrophic for bird life.
- Attempts at a fixed and extended season of 90 days despite dire climate impacts and very significant loss of biodiversity as the impacts of hunting, development and climate change converge.
- For 85 days (out of the proposed 90 days) of the duck shooting season, shooting will commence 30 minutes before sunrise. These early morning starts in near darkness are notorious for shooters not being able to identify bird species and a higher wounding rate.
- The serious impacts from lead pollution occurring on Ramsar sites after decades of using lead shot and the likely obfuscation (which is already occurring) in relation to a ban on lead shot, particularly in relation to native quail shooting.
- Shifting the opening day of duck shooting from a Saturday to a Wednesday is aimed at limiting the significant focus that the opening day receives from media, along with the general public who are opposed to the slaughter.
That children should be exposed, even encouraged to shoot waterbirds on Ramsar sites is terrible. This heinous behaviour is actually encouraged by the Victorian Government and its staff.
All done and dusted: A tactical delisting
And just as the Nature Knowledge Channel predicted last year:
“The Victorian Minister for the Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, has also signed off on the removal of one of Australia's most unique native waterbirds, the Hardhead (Aythya australis), from the threatened species list, just three years after it was put on it”. Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting
Delisting of the Hardhead in Victoria was in part driven by a submission by the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (Victoria) (SSAA) who state:
“The Scientific Advisory Committee’s recommendation is in direct response to SSAA Victoria’s nomination. The Association is grateful to the SAC for assessing the evidence and accepting the nomination. In doing so, the SAC has struck a blow for the integrity of the listing process”.
Not only more ducks to shoot in an environment where there are fewer and fewer ducks but the next statement from the SSAA describes why delisting of the Hardhead is so important to shooters:
“It follows from the SAC’s recommendation that Hardhead should not factor as a trigger species for any wetland closures for the 2024 season”.
For many years I have described Australia’s extinction crisis about which the whole world should worry. I have also described the political malarky that accompanies the listing process. One feature here is a ‘listing lag’, while there is a slight catch up going on with 35 new species listed in the last two months, there remains a very long way to go. As more and more species are added to the threatened species list, the Hardhead in Victoria is delisted. That tells a story that many of us do not want to hear.
The danger has always been, they are lost before they are found and what is happening to Ramsar sites in Victoria adds to this ever present danger::
“More than 750 new native species were identified last year as the Albanese Government invests $2 million to support further taxonomy research”.
Codswallop
We did complain to the GMA about its prejudicial conduct on and the capture of Ramsar sites by shooters in Victoria in 2024, for what were lengthy periods. Part of the response rebutting our concerning and denying responsibility for their role in what had occurred in 2024, which can only be described as shocking, was this –
“The RAMSAR Convention obliges Victoria to manage its 11 RAMSAR sites so as to maintain their 'ecological character'. The ecological character is defined as the critical components, processes and services at the time of listing, and is specific to each site”.
Apart from the codswallop of this and other paragraphs in the GMA’s response to us we should all note that Victoria has 12 RAMSAR sites.
Like all these things it is hard to believe, but you can be certain it is true.
Notice of the making of the proposed wildlife (game) regulations 2024
The new hunting regulations will only serve to intensify the serious issues in Victoria, including on Ramsar sites, in relation to the mass abuse of wildlife (in this case water birds) and the profoundly concerning human rights issues now occurring. It appears that no (or at best few) considerations of the submissions made by individuals and organisations that care about Australia's birdlife were taken into account. It would appear that enforcement and shooters rights are now deeply entrenched in Victoria's regulatory landscape.
In accordance with section 12 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 (SLA), I, Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Outdoor Recreation and Minister for Environment, as the Minister responsible for administering sections 22A 58C and 87 of the Wildlife Act 1975, have decided to recommend the making of the proposed Wildlife (Game) Regulations 2024 (proposed Regulations). The proposed Regulations will replace the Wildlife (Game) Interim Regulations 2023, which expire on 8 September 2024.
A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) and exposure draft of the proposed Regulations were open for public consultation from 1 July 2024 to 29 July 2024, during which 5,521 submissions were received, including 570 written submissions and 4,951 survey responses through the Engage Victoria website. Additionally, around 90 more submissions were directly received by the Department.
After consideration of the submissions in accordance with section 11 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, I have decided to proceed with the making of the proposed Regulations with the following amendments:
- Removal of the proposed ban on the use and possession of toxic (lead) ammunition for hunting deer.
- Proceeding with the ban on electronic acoustic lures for hunting game birds but including an additional exemption for their use in the hunting of duck.
- Removal of the proposed exemption for people who use artificial water supplies to hunt, take or destroy hog deer if they are granted an authorisation.
- Removal of the proposed change for hunters of hog deer to lodge a harvest return and a return to the current requirement in the Wildlife (Game) Interim Regulations 2023 to take the hog deer to a checking station.
- Amending requirements for game licence applications to require applicants to provide certain information when applying for a hunting licence.
- Making minor and technical amendments, including to further refine the exemptions provisions for persons acting under Authority.
All submissions have been considered in finalising the proposed regulations and a Statement of Reasons summarising issues raised and the Department’s response is published on ……
After the proposed Regulations are made, they will become available for download from.....
Dated 30 August 2024