Field & Game Australia and the panel who prepared the duck submission were faced with one important question – is there enough evidence, facts and data to sustain a full season with a full bag limit for the 2020 duck season?
After extensive research of the available data and ongoing dry conditions – with a large area of the eastern seaboard experiencing an extreme drought – there is a distinct possibility of not having a season in 2020.
The submission was prepared and delivered based on the organisation’s values of sustainable hunting, not just for next year but for generations to come.
It is this reason FGA has a reasoned voice with government, the Game Management Authority and all the people who make the rules.
This principle value of FGA is linked to what King George VI said; “The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose of as we please, we have it in trust and must account for it to those who come afterwards”.
Future generations will not only be holding us responsible for the state of their wildlife, but for their ability to hunt and harvest.
FGA has a very special place in society and the social scene as an influential, trusted and reasoned voice for sustainable duck hunting, not only in Victoria but for all the states and territories that allow recreational duck hunting.
More than ever public image is so very important, we as a group cannot allow stupid acts by individuals doing the wrong thing - including demanding a full season because “we deserve one” when that was never going to be supported by the regulator, the politicians, or the environment.
FGA continues to be a body of conservationists, hunters and clay target shooters to better promote our way of life to the general community.
This is why the nest box programs, swamp reclamation programs and hunter education programs are so important, especially for the younger members that are entering our lifestyle and sharing our values as Australia’s most surprising conservationists.
We have demonstrated time and again that we still have duck seasons against a tsunami of protest which will never go away. The last year has been a long hard process but we are seeing signs of encouragement from the respective governments that regulate duck and quail seasons.
Only by uniting behind an organised body like FGA, we at least have a chance to save what we have got and ensure generations after us will have the same opportunity to harvest ducks and quail.
