The Pacific Black Duck Conservation Group is dedicated to protecting this native species from hybridisation with introduced mallards ducks.
We aim to achieve this by raising awareness of native duck species, the impacts of feeding and dumping domestic ducks and assisting Tasmanian councils in mallard removal projects.

Current projects to date have included:
-Mallard and hybrid removal projects.
-Ducks of Tasmania education booklet.
-Assisting councils with new signs, websites and social media posts about native ducks and duck feeding impacts.
-School and community duck-spotting and presentations.
-Advocating for better mallard ownership laws.

Please join us! We are currently looking to build a database of people who can assist various Tasmanian councils with mallard removal efforts. This may involve luring domestic ducks into enclosures, enclosure set up/pack down and transporting them to wildife rehabilitators (Raptor Refuge, Tasmania devil carers etc).

Please join our facebook group for other ways to assist and to keep updated.

---HOW TO HELP---

1. To assist this project and help native ducks, please upload any sightings of feral ducks and hybrids to citizen science websites such as iNaturalist, eBird or Birdata. If unsure if it is a Pacific black Duck (PBD) or a hybrid (it can be tricky!), please upload a photo to iNaturalist or our facebook group and the community can help identify. This data helps monitor PBD populations affected by mallard hybridisation.

-https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/
-https://ebird.org/australia/home
-https://birdata.birdlife.org.au

2. Don't feed ducks any food or water. Only dumped domestic ducks and hybrids benefit from this, and our native ducks are very capable of finding their own healthy food and water.

3. If you have free-ranging pet ducks, consider containing them or not getting more in the future. Muscovy ducks are a great free-ranging duck alternative due to their inability to crossbreed with native ducks.

3. Report people dumping ducks or newly dumped birds to your local council and/or the police. Dumping is considered animal cruelty and offenders can be charged with fines up to $20,000.

5. Encourage others to enjoy ducks by learning about them, identifying our different native species and watching them go about their business. Please get in touch with group leader Jason for copies of our Ducks of Tasmania booklet.

6. Contact your local council to voice your support for mallard removal from local waterways and parks. Currently, public opposition to mallard removal (from a lack of awareness) is a big roadblock in protecting PBDs.

7. The PBDCG is a volunteer group that holds occasional mallard removal events to support council efforts. Please get in touch if you're interested in helping or are able to help home domestic ducks responsibly.

Contact: pacificblackduck@gmail.com

Friends of Bass Strait Islands

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