Duck hunting under threat in Victoria

Today, the future of duck hunting came under fire in Victoria when Andy Meddick of the Animal Justice Party put forward a bill asking the Victorian Parliament to suspend the 2021 Victorian Duck Hunting Season. 

This isn’t the first time Meddick and the AJP have taken aim at hunters, and we’re sure it won’t be the last. In fact, rumours have continued to swirl that Meddick was given the green light for some of his more radical anti-hunting bills in return for his recent support of Daniel Andrew’s emergency powers requests. 

If this bill succeeds, you can bet your bottom dollar the AJP will set its sights on bigger targets. It is not about one season or even one state. A quick look at the AJP website reveals that they want a complete ban on duck hunting across the whole of Australia. If they get up in Victoria, they will take the fight to other states.

It is easy to write this off as ‘not my problem’ if you don’t hunt ducks. But this is about far more than duck hunting or even hunting in general. 

This radical animal rights agenda will not end with a ban on duck hunting. Nor will it end if they succeed in banning all recreational hunting and fishing.

The AJP don’t even try to hide it. Their website clearly states they want to radically change the relationship between animals and humans at all levels.

Hunting and fishing are just the easy targets. Their end goal is to force Australians to adopt a plant-based diet, to succeed in having animals recognised legally as sentient beings, and thus granting them the same rights as humans. These changes are already well under way in Victoria, where the AJP are pushing forward the world’s most radical changes to the Animal Welfare Act. This isn’t some pie in the sky dream. It is already before Parliament in Victoria, with public submissions closing in less than a month. 

And before the ink is even dry on that bill, Meddick has now floated his second attack on hunting – with the bill to ban duck hunting. 

Maybe you don’t think this effects you. Maybe you’re not a duck hunter, and really don’t care whether it is banned or not. Maybe you’re not Victorian, so don’t think you get a say. But now is the time for all hunters to stand together.

To paraphrase a well-known quote by Martin Niemöller: