Source: Radio New Zealand
The Animal Justice Party is renewing a call for duck hunting to be banned.
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager was among the thousands who took part in the annual game bird hunting season opening.
Spokesperson Danette Wereta said it was not an effective way to control the population, and was banned in other countries.
She told RNZ that hunting did not address the underlying cause – such as habitat loss, wetland drainage, or intensive land use.
“It really does avoid the real solutions, and there are better alternatives,” she said.
“Working with nature delivers better outcomes than trying to control it through ongoing killings.
“We should also be investing in prevention and innovation – not repeating harm – we obviously invest a lot into this killing cycle, and we should be investing that research into those alternatives.”
Wereta was also concerned that game bird hunting increased the risk of bird flu.
She said hunters moving through wetlands, handling birds, and travelling between regions could spread the virus.
“There have been dairy herds in the [United] States that have been infected through that transmission.
“Hunting definitely puts our wildlife, and all of our farmed animals, at risk.
“It should be something that we’re taking seriously, and we should not be hunting ducks for sport, given the situation at the moment.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
