It’s about far more than the hunt, it’s about time with friends and family in the maimai and bringing home wild food to share.
This connection to land, tradition, and food is part of our national identity.
The behaviour of activists seen in recent weeks is unhelpful and misdirected.
Without active management, overpopulation can lead to pressure on resources and the wellbeing of the birds.
However, claims that cast ducks as a significant threat to freshwater quality or farming, without proper context, are equally unhelpful.
As a freshwater ecologist with strong rural ties and a background in integrated catchment management, I’ve spent my career understanding how land use, water quality, and wildlife intersect.
The reality is far more complex than headlines suggest.
Yes, ducks produce E. coli. Dr Rowarth cites a 2015 ESR report that compares E. coli outputs across a range of production animals, ducks and geese.
However, this per-animal comparison overlooks critical factors.
A single farm may have hundreds of cows concentrated in one area of a catchment, while ducks are widely dispersed across the landscape, and prefer wetland environments (which are the land’s kidney systems).
Moreover, ESR’s own research confirms that during heavy rainfall, when most faecal contamination enters waterways, the dominant sources tend to be from livestock rather than waterfowl.
That’s not a criticism of farming, but a reflection of how scale and land use patterns affect water quality outcomes.
And E. coli is only one part of the picture.
Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, along with sediment, are consistently identified as key contributors to freshwater degradation.
These issues stem from a range of land uses and activities, and effective management depends on understanding all the contributing factors, of which game birds are a relatively minor one.
Regarding crop damage, Dr Rowarth highlights instances where mallards have impacted crops, particularly in Southland.
While such events do occur on newly planted or sprouted crops, they are typically associated with population spikes following wet springs.
These surges are usually short-lived and self-correcting, managed by winter mortality, regulated hunting, and natural predation.
Fish and Game New Zealand already enables farmers to apply for special permits to manage duck damage outside the regulated season. Many do.
There are also proactive tools available, such as early pest control measures to remove attractants like caterpillars, which also harm crops.
Dr Rowarth also states that mallards are an introduced species that have hybridised with the native grey duck, raising biodiversity concerns.
While mallards were introduced and have become the most common waterfowl in the country, they are now a valued game bird species.
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders, including many farmers, take part in duck hunting each season.
Dr Rowarth rightly points out that the hunters, and their dogs, take pride in a clean shot and retrieval.
We do hear claims from time to time that duck-hunting should be taken out of the hands of Fish and Game.
This would repeat past mistakes.
When Canada Geese management was taken from Fish and Game, populations ballooned, causing greater damage to both farms and wetlands.
In my view the lesson is clear: unco-ordinated wildlife management often makes problems worse, not better.
Fish and Game is committed to working alongside farmers and landowners on practical solutions that balance the need to farm productive land while managing game bird populations.
New Zealand deserves an informed debate; one that recognises the complexity of our environmental challenges and focuses on the strategies that genuinely make a difference.
