“Duck hunting in Victoria needs to end.”
That’s the emphatic statement of acclaimed Malmsbury singer songwriter Lucy Wise who is throwing her weight behind the fight to end the annual blood sport.
“These beautiful animals are vital to the ecosystem that we and all living things on this land depend on,” she said.
“It is also incredibly cruel that such vast numbers of these birds are killed, often inhumanely, for ‘sport’. Many of these birds are threatened species, and the hunting also affects other threatened water bird species.”
Lucy has signed on to support the Victorian Wildlife Alliance by agreeing to join the group’s protest rallies when she is available, in the lead up to the November election.
“As the deadly bird flu crisis hit, killing thousands of native animals, the Victorian government allowed the annual slaughter of ducks and quails to go ahead,” said VWA spokesperson David Mould.
“We are so grateful that Lucy Wise will now lend her considerably talented voice to the campaign demanding an end to this yearly celebration of cruelty.”
Lucy has been writing her most recent album, Salt, while working on a vineyard near her home in Malmsbury. She was spending long spring days outdoors, listening to music and poetry podcasts and pruning grape vines. Eventually she started to write songs as she worked, and the album began to take form.
Salt was released Sept 17 ahead of her east coast tour.
A love of the natural environment is often woven through her music.
“We need to cherish our wildlife as extraordinary living beings worthy of our respect, curiosity and admiration,” she said.
“We cannot continue to allow the decimation of our beautiful bird populations.”