More birds and more shooting in duck hunting season

Hunters can bag nine ducks a day, up from six, with seven duck species allowed.

But the blue-winged shoveler is off the list this season, and lead shot cannot be used for quail hunting.

The start time is 8am for the first five days of the season, after which hunting can start 30 minutes before sunrise.

New shooters seeking a licence must undergo online training, including Aboriginal cultural awareness training, as part of promised safety and sustainability measures.

All hunters renewing their licence from 2026 will also be required to complete this training.

Victorian Outdoor Recreation Minister Steve Dimopoulos said duck hunting was a legitimate activity that could be done sustainably and responsibly.

“Our wounding reduction action plan will improve animal welfare and is a significant step to make sure recreational hunting can continue sustainably in Victoria,” he said.

The government says it has invested $11.6 million to ensure the proper compliance and enforcement measures are in place so duck hunting remains safe and sustainable into the future.

But Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell slammed the government over the “most reckless season” in more than a decade.

Ms Purcell, who is also the State Member for Northern Victoria, said the decision to go through with another duck hunting season would condemn 400,000 native waterbirds to “ruthless” slaughter.

“This is an unpopular decision by an unpopular premier who continuously cowers to the shooting and gun lobby,” she said.

Coalition Against Duck Shooting campaign director Laurie Levy said Premier Jaconta Allan had “the blood of Australia’s native waterbirds on her hands”.

Mr Levy said duck hunting risked spreading the deadly H5N1 bird flu as well as the highly pathogenic H7N8 strain by shooters and rescuers disturbing and handling any birds that may be infected on the wetlands.

“With the imminent threat of the deadly H5N1 bird flu, which has already killed hundreds of millions of birds and other wildlife on every other continent, and the H7N8 strain now detected on two poultry farms in northern Victoria, the Premier’s call is totally irresponsible.”

Waterbird populations have dropped almost 50 per cent in the past year due to drought conditions, according to the Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey.

An estimated 391,900 ducks were hunted in the state in 2024, about 22 per cent higher than average, Game Management Authority figures show, despite bag limits and a shortened season.

More than 455,000 stubble quails were harvested — almost triple the long-term average.

Those figures followed the Victorian Government ignoring a parliamentary inquiry which recommended a ban on duck hunting in 2023.

Instead of a total ban, the government in 2024 shortened the season, implemented a bag limit of six per day and pledged to introduce adaptive harvest management, hunter education and training and waterfowl wounding reduction measures.

Duck hunting has long been banned in Western Australia, NSW and Queensland.

Further details about the 2025 season, including any wetland closures, will be regularly updated on the Game Management Authority website at: https://gma.vic.gov.au

– with AAP.