The Animal Justice Party is renewing a call for duck hunting to be banned.<\/p>\n
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager was among the thousands who took part in the annual game bird hunting season opening.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Danette Wereta said it was not an effective way to control the population, and was banned in other countries.<\/p>\n
She told RNZ that hunting did not address the underlying cause – such as habitat loss, wetland drainage, or intensive land use.<\/p>\n
“It really does avoid the real solutions, and there are better alternatives,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Working with nature delivers better outcomes than trying to control it through ongoing killings.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Wereta was also concerned that game bird hunting increased the risk of bird flu.<\/p>\n
She said hunters moving through wetlands, handling birds, and travelling between regions could spread the virus.<\/p>\n
“There have been dairy herds in the [United] States that have been infected through that transmission.<\/p>\n
“Hunting definitely puts our wildlife, and all of our farmed animals, at risk.<\/p>\n
“It should be something that we’re taking seriously, and we should not be hunting ducks for sport, given the situation at the moment.”<\/p>\n