2023 waterfowl wounding monitoring results

The results of the Game Management Authority’s (GMA) 2023 Waterfowl Wounding Monitoring Program are now available.

The results of the Game Management Authority’s (GMA) 2023 Waterfowl Wounding Monitoring Program are now available.

The Waterfowl Wounding Monitoring Program, which began in 2022, involves trapping game ducks immediately following Victoria’s duck hunting season and x-raying them for embedded shotgun pellets.

From 30 May to 20 July 2023, a team of researchers captured and x-rayed 632 ducks at six locations across Victoria. Of the 632 ducks, 2.4 per cent (15 ducks) were found with embedded pellets.

The 2.4 per cent represents an index and is not the actual wounding rate. This index will be used to monitor trends over time.

Both adult and immature (first year) ducks were captured and x-rayed.

Of the 372 immature ducks assessed, four (one per cent) were found to contain embedded pellets. Assessing immature ducks is important for providing an accurate indication of the infliction rate from a single duck season.

Results show that adult ducks had approximately four times the rate of pellet infliction of immature ducks. This is most likely due to adult ducks being exposed to multiple hunting seasons and accumulating pellets over time.

The data collected through the Waterfowl Wounding Monitoring Program will be used to assess the effectiveness of actions to reduce waterfowl wounding and inform regulations and the GMA’s hunter education programs.

The GMA continued this research in 2023, in line with existing government policy, as part of the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Hunting Action Plan 2021-24 and commitment to implementing a monitoring program to help reduce waterfowl wounding.

The GMA provides a wide range of education materials to hunters, including videos, guidelines and fact sheets, on how to reduce wounding and hunt responsibly.

For more information on the wounding monitoring program, including a copy of the 2023 report, visit Duck Research.

For information on how to reduce waterfowl wounding, visit REDUCE Wounding