The duck stops here: native bird hunting in Victoria
Native bird hunting benefits few Victorians and imposes costs on many. Just 0.17% of Victorians hunted ducks in 2022, while 88% are concerned about the birds’ suffering. Research commissioned by the hunting regulator suggests that ending native bird hunting reduce gross state product (GSP) by $3.7 million per year—Victoria’s GSP in 2022 was over $500 billion. Even this impact is overstated due to flaws in the relevant study.
Native bird hunting benefits very few Victorians and is opposed by many. On this basis, it should be obvious that ending duck and quail hunting would be beneficial, and that this would have a near-zero, or even positive, impact on the state’s economy.
An estimated 11,549 people went duck hunting in 2022—just 0.17% of the state’s 6.7 million people. By contrast, 66% of Victorians oppose duck hunting and 88% are concerned about the suffering of ducks.