Humane Dispatch methods across Country

There has been some noise in the media, and seems to be some confusion on acceptable ways to humanely dispatch a bird in the different states and territories of Australia – and little wonder.

Each state has a guide or code of conduct – but they are not all in agreement.
Field and Game reminds members and hunters that it is your responsibility to make sure you are familiar with the requirements of whichever state you are hunting in!

In Tas:
Wounded ducks must be dispatched as quickly and humanely as possible.
Rapid dislocation of the vertebrae of the neck (cervical dislocation) is a recommended method for dispatching wounded ducks.
https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Duck-code-of-practice.pdf

In South Australia:
The shooter must ensure that prior to shooting, he/she has the necessary equipment to kill any bird that is injured but not killed on the first shot.
Injured birds must be killed as quickly and humanely as possible by;
• second shot, or
• a blow with a heavy instrument to the rear of the skull
(the bird should be either restrained or immobile) https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/cop_humanedestructionbirds.pdf

In Victoria:
If a swatter load can’t be used safely, there are other methods which can be used to dispatch a duck. These methods require you to have both hands free.

A recovered duck that is still alive should be rendered unconscious before attempting to dispatch it. To achieve this, follow these steps:
Instructions
1. Secure your firearm safely to ensure that both hands are free
2. Use a hard and heavy blunt instrument, such as a fishing priest or short length of metal
pipe or rod. These are acceptable instruments to use and should be carried with you.
3. Enough force must be applied to make the duck unconscious with ONE blow
4. The blow MUST land directly on top of the duck’s skull. This can be delivered vertically
or horizontally depending on how the duck is restrained (see below)
5. Make sure the duck has been rendered unconscious by checking the following signs:
• lack of eye blinking
• lack of muscle tension in the beak and neck
• no controlled movement of the head
6. After checking for signs of unconsciousness, proceed with a secondary method to dispatch the duck (e.g. cervical dislocation or pithing).
Blunt force trauma is ONLY humane if delivered with ONE blow
If you can’t render the duck unconscious, cervical dislocation should be the only method used to dispatch the duck.

https://www.gma.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/498985/Web-Guidelines-for-humane-di~-of-downed-ducks-August-2019.PDF

In the NT:
Hunters are simply advised:
You should aim to instantly kill each bird fired upon, so that it does not suffer.
No animal should suffer unnecessarily.

https://nt.gov.au/leisure/hunting-and-shooting/magpie-geese-and-waterfowl/magpie-geese-and-waterfowl-hunting-rules


FGA would like to also point out – that the “windmilling” of ducks as a method of dispatch is not accepted and is not the most effective way to dispatch a duck, and we strongly discourage this act. It looks terrible and gives those opposed to hunting the ammunition they require to accuse hunters of being unethical. Please just don’t do it!