A hunting protestor has resorted to filming young children as a means of intimidating one hunting family to not participate in the opening day of Victoria’s 2024 duck season.
In behaviour described by one witness as ‘stinking to high heaven’, the man was asked to stop when he and more than 50 other protestors descended on a family of five with three young girls who had set up camp the night before the season began on Wednesday, April 10.
Nicole Mouzakis said she and her daughters were initially upset by the actions.
“He had his tripod set up and kept turning it and taking video footage of the kids,” Mrs Mouzakis said.
“Two other ladies on the other side were doing the same thing.”
Mrs Mouzakis said she asked Game Management Authority officers and police to have the man stop.
“But they said there was nothing they could do; that was a serious issue for me.
“Then the protestors were in and out of our camp so there was no privacy.”
Mrs Mouzakis said protestors attempted to follow her children on toilet trips.
The man who filmed the girls had earlier measured the camp’s distance from the water’s edge and told them they were camped within the 25m limit.
GMA officers then measured the distance and told the family they were at 30m.
Mrs Mouzakis also said another man stood in the water and continually abused her father-in-law as he hunted.
“This guy was going up to him saying he couldn’t ‘effing’ shoot,” she said.
“He called him a fat pig, they were swearing; they are a very intolerable bunch.
“Then a dog came past and my two youngest girls — they’re 11 and eight years old — ran out to greet the dog and then it all started because they ran within the 25-metre limit.
“The protestors started calling the police and the GMA to have us arrested.”
Two other men returned to the area on Thursday evening with a tripod and appeared to be filming the family.
Country News has been provided with footage of the men filming the family and of masked protestors and duck rescuers jogging through the camp.
Field and Game Australia chief executive officer Lucas Cooke described the protestors’ actions as “desperate”.
“Here you’ve got a mother and three young girls who aren’t hunters, enjoying Victoria’s beautiful recreational wetlands while their father goes out to hunt,” Mr Cooke said.
“It’s at their traditional family place with uncles and a brother — a really family affair.”
Mr Cooke said protestors had developed new strategies.
“They have realised they are not going to get footage of hunters doing the wrong thing, so they’re getting vindictive instead, bringing a measuring tape, seeing the family comply and still wanting to argue it.
“They are going out of the way to come up with nonsensical things to try to report to police and authorities with the line of ‘these are not responsible people, so surely you can kick them off because they can’t be trusted’.
“They are so desperate to prove that hunters are non-compliant when in fact 99 per cent of them are.
“I find that incident an extension of that pettiness and an invasion of privacy,” he said.
“The government has clearly identified that hunting is a legitimate recreation and, like any other one, we should be allowed to do it.”
Despite being initially upset from the incident and three other camps packing up and leaving, the Mouzakis family decided to stay, with Mrs Mouzakis saying hunting remained a long-standing tradition for many communities and families.
“My father-in-law went out with his father, my husband’s uncles are here, so we are going to hold our ground and not look at it as just a sport but a tradition to put organic food on the table for family and friends and to share the love,” she said.
“We are not intimidated by people who fear what they do not understand, and (the protestors) need to know that the tactics are not going to work.“
Wildlife Victoria was present at Wooroonook Lakes to operate a field veterinary triage.
Chief executive officer Lisa Palma said a ‘number’ of game and non-game birds had been presented alive at the group’s triage tent.
“The majority had to be euthanised due to the extent of their injuries,” Ms Palma said.
A spokesperson for Wildlife Victoria said the group was not aware of the incidents described above.
It is not clear if the men accused of harassing the family were part of Wildlife Victoria.
Country News contacted the Coalition Against Duck Shooting for comment.