Bruce in West Oz
New member
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has launched a campaign to ban duck shooting Australia-wide.
I predict it will be successful, and will be followed shortly thereafter by further classes of animals being banned, especially deer (Bambi) and, ultimately, recreational fishing (live bait fishing -- even worms -- is already under threat).
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>DUCK HUNTING CAMPAIGN
Duck shooting - kill the sport
15 February 2000
The RSPCA today launches a national public awareness campaign entitled "Duck shooting – kill the sport" which seeks to ban the ‘sport’ of recreational duck shooting.
RSPCA national president, Dr Wirth said at the launch that between 594,000 and 900,000 ducks are crippled or wounded annually in the name of ‘sport’ – and the RSPCA demands the ‘sport’ be killed off.
"This annual mayhem amounts to no more than killing for fun and has no other purpose," Dr Wirth said.
Duck shooting is cruel because the way shotguns operate make it impossible to ensure that a duck is killed outright, even by a skilled marksman. Ducks can sustain horrific injuries from the broad scattering of pellets. Legs and wings can be left dangling and bills smashed. Eyes can be shot from sockets or left bulging and full of blood by a pellet blow to the head. Internal injuries are less obvious but more insidious. A live bird with no obvious external injuries may die days or weeks later after suffering prolonged pain.
"Claims that duck hunting controls the duck population cannot be substantiated because duck populations are mainly determined by water levels, with wet winters leading to high breeding rates and dry winters leading to low breeding rates," Dr Wirth said.
A resultant problem from duck hunting is the lead poisoning found in waterbirds which comes from the birds eating lead shot used in duck hunting. Lead shot is not used in SA, some parts of the NT and will be phased out in Victoria over the next three years.
There are 27,500 licensed duck shooters in Australia with 85% of those hunters living in Victoria.
Duck hunting was banned in WA, ACT and NSW. New South Wales banned duck hunting in 1995 on the grounds that "the level of pain and suffering through cruelty is unreasonably high". It is time for all States to take the issue of cruelty seriously and ban this cruel ‘sport’.
To interview Dr Wirth, contact:
Media Liaison Officer Ray Lord (03) 9224 2237 or (03) 9224 2233 or Anita Shooks, Executive Officer on (02) 6282 8300.[/quote]
Direct from their website:
http://www.rspca.org.au/
Don't you just love the calm, reasoned language from a supposed watchdog, not a rabid left-wing animals rights organisation? Or have they changed their charter overnight?
The significance is that if duck hunting is banned, many Aussie shooters will no longer have "need or reason" to own a firearm and will have their licences revoked and lose their firearms if they can not come up with another "approved" reason for ownership. Many, of course, will just give up.
Believe me, this is just a backhanded way of removing guns from ordinary people -- it has little if anything to do with "saving" ducks.
The SSAA is fighting every inch of the way, but we're on the back foot again.
See: http://www.ssaa.org.au/pr1422000.html
or read the guest book entries at:
http://www.recalldesign.com/ssaa.mgb/index.html
B
I predict it will be successful, and will be followed shortly thereafter by further classes of animals being banned, especially deer (Bambi) and, ultimately, recreational fishing (live bait fishing -- even worms -- is already under threat).
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>DUCK HUNTING CAMPAIGN
Duck shooting - kill the sport
15 February 2000
The RSPCA today launches a national public awareness campaign entitled "Duck shooting – kill the sport" which seeks to ban the ‘sport’ of recreational duck shooting.
RSPCA national president, Dr Wirth said at the launch that between 594,000 and 900,000 ducks are crippled or wounded annually in the name of ‘sport’ – and the RSPCA demands the ‘sport’ be killed off.
"This annual mayhem amounts to no more than killing for fun and has no other purpose," Dr Wirth said.
Duck shooting is cruel because the way shotguns operate make it impossible to ensure that a duck is killed outright, even by a skilled marksman. Ducks can sustain horrific injuries from the broad scattering of pellets. Legs and wings can be left dangling and bills smashed. Eyes can be shot from sockets or left bulging and full of blood by a pellet blow to the head. Internal injuries are less obvious but more insidious. A live bird with no obvious external injuries may die days or weeks later after suffering prolonged pain.
"Claims that duck hunting controls the duck population cannot be substantiated because duck populations are mainly determined by water levels, with wet winters leading to high breeding rates and dry winters leading to low breeding rates," Dr Wirth said.
A resultant problem from duck hunting is the lead poisoning found in waterbirds which comes from the birds eating lead shot used in duck hunting. Lead shot is not used in SA, some parts of the NT and will be phased out in Victoria over the next three years.
There are 27,500 licensed duck shooters in Australia with 85% of those hunters living in Victoria.
Duck hunting was banned in WA, ACT and NSW. New South Wales banned duck hunting in 1995 on the grounds that "the level of pain and suffering through cruelty is unreasonably high". It is time for all States to take the issue of cruelty seriously and ban this cruel ‘sport’.
To interview Dr Wirth, contact:
Media Liaison Officer Ray Lord (03) 9224 2237 or (03) 9224 2233 or Anita Shooks, Executive Officer on (02) 6282 8300.[/quote]
Direct from their website:
http://www.rspca.org.au/
Don't you just love the calm, reasoned language from a supposed watchdog, not a rabid left-wing animals rights organisation? Or have they changed their charter overnight?
The significance is that if duck hunting is banned, many Aussie shooters will no longer have "need or reason" to own a firearm and will have their licences revoked and lose their firearms if they can not come up with another "approved" reason for ownership. Many, of course, will just give up.
Believe me, this is just a backhanded way of removing guns from ordinary people -- it has little if anything to do with "saving" ducks.
The SSAA is fighting every inch of the way, but we're on the back foot again.
See: http://www.ssaa.org.au/pr1422000.html
or read the guest book entries at:
http://www.recalldesign.com/ssaa.mgb/index.html
B