Just weeks into Victoria’s 2016 duck shooting season, Australian waterbirds seeking refuge at the temporarily protected, Johnson Swamp, in regional Victoria, were set to find themselves in the middle of a killing field.
The Australasian Bittern: shy, elusive — and endangered. Only 850 of these beautiful waterbirds are left in the wild.
This major wetland had been closed to shooters for the first weeks of the season due to the presence of the endangered Australasian Bittern. And our investigators discovered that since then many thousands of waterbirds – from beautiful ‘game’ species to protected and threatened species — had also found their way to the relative safety of Johnson Swamp.
We gave the Victorian government an ultimatum: close the wetland and protect threatened waterbirds or face us in the Federal Court. Just days before shooters were to descend, the government agreed to shut Johnson Swamp to shooters — for the entire duck hunting season.
For the more than 60,000 native waterbirds who gathered at this key wetland when so many others were dry, this meant peace and safety. It meant life.
And, for the Australasian Bittern, this victory could make the difference between survival and disaster.