Southland farmers call for mallard ducks to be classified as pests

Southland's Federated Farmers president Jason Herrick said the mallard duck population was causing problems in the region. Photo / 123rf

By Sally Wenley of RNZ

Southern farmers are in a flap about wild ducks, calling for the mallard breed to be designated pests so they can be killed throughout the year.

Southland’s Federated Farmers president Jason Herrick said an explosion of ducks is causing big problems as they are munching through crops.

Herrick said mallards are an introduced species and need to be controlled, and following a very wet spring, their numbers have got out of control.

Parallel to this, crops were planted later this year and their maturation has coincided with fledgling ducks looking for food.

“At the moment our arable crops are in full harvest mode and the videos that I am getting of the hundreds of thousands of ducks flying around most areas are pretty mind-boggling.

“The skies are black and the paddocks are black with ducks,” Herrick said.

Herrick said farmers asked the local Fish and Game for permission to cull the problem ducks but were turned down and told they could only shoot to scare them.

“I would love for them to be acknowledged on the pest register which would open them up to hunting all year round in the south.

“Not necessarily for all New Zealand but specifically for Southland.

“I’m getting a lot of complaints from farmers who are straight out calling them a pest because of the issues they are creating.”

Herrick said there could be other options such as opening up a summer or weekend shoot for Mallard ducks.

“Or actually dish out permits that will allow farmers to shoot them at that time of the year,” he said.

Currently, ducks are usually only allowed to be shot during the duck shooting season which opens on the first weekend of May, with a limit on how many ducks can be shot each day.

The season runs for up to two months and varies in different regions.

At the end of next week, Herrick is meeting with the Hunting and Fishing minister, James Meager, to talk about the option of including mallard ducks on the pest register and how to better control them.

However, Fish and Game doesn’t believe that will work, saying the removal of Canada geese from the Game schedule hasn’t worked.

Classifying geese as a pest meant they could be killed at any time of the year, and their management was removed from Fish and Game and transferred to councils.

Hunters still need to get a prior permit to kill the geese on conservation or council land.

Fish and Game chief executive Corina Jordan said the population of Canada geese has now exploded and as they are under the control of local councils which means ratepayers have to pick up the cost of trying to keep their numbers at a manageable level - which in some areas isn’t working well.

Jordan said Fish and Game recognises that game birds can be a real frustration for farmers and is urging them to seek early support for mallard duck management on crops.

‘’We are encouraging farmers experiencing challenges managing mallard ducks on crops to contact the organisation early for advice and apply for permits to disperse or cull them,” Jordan said.

“The extremely wet spring that has made for a challenging season for farmers has also provided ideal breeding conditions for mallards.”

She said, that in some cases, summer hunting seasons can also be considered but, under legislation, this needs to be set a year in advance.

“Farmers can apply for permits from Fish and Game which enable some ducks to be culled, and for ducks to be scared away from crops using non-lethal methods such as bird scarers.”

Jordan said calls to allow unrestricted shooting of mallard ducks all year round would not provide an effective solution.

- RNZ