A TOUR guide has called for the Territory's duck and goose shooting season to be outlawed after finding 20 birds discarded.

Mike Jarvis, 55, said the magpie geese had not been "cleaned" of their meat.

"They were just strewn around with shotgun cartridges," he said, "They had been left to rot."

Mr Jarvis found the carcasses at Harrison Dam, about 60km from Darwin.

"I don't normally go there because I don't want a confrontation with hunters," he said.

"I admire people who are willing to confront them, but that's not me."

The keen birder said he hoped there was a trend towards a "more civilised appreciation of nature".

There are a record 2000 registered shooters in the Territory and 200 birders.

"Far more people are willing to pay a lot of money to blast birds out of the sky than there are who are willing to go out with a notebook and camera," Mr Jarvis said.

"People who appreciate nature and want to conserve it are in a minority. It's dismaying."

NT Field and Game president Bart Irwin said the carcasses had been cleaned.

"The photos clearly show the breast fillets have been removed," he said.

"The legs have not been removed, but this could be because the legs are broken and the meat is too bruised."

Mr Irwin said waterfowl hunting was sustainable and was carried out by "ethical hunters".

He said Parks and Wildlife estimated the magpie goose population at 2.6 - 3.4 million.

The hunting harvest by licensed shooters was expected to be 50,000.

"This is a drop in the ocean and will have nil effect on the population," Mr Irwin said.

He said nearly 20,000 more geese were shot last season but the population still grew by up to 800,000 geese.

"Waterfowl hunting permit sales have exceeded 2000 for the first time," he said.

"This shows more people wish to gather their own food ... when it is plentiful."

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