Just like a duckshooter uses decoys to attract ducks, Woodlands Butchery is using ducks to attract shooters.

Woodlands Butchery owner Craig Hamilton said they had seen some "hard-case sights" with guys getting ready for the season, loading boxes of beer and couches on to the back of trucks "so we decided to get into the spirit".

" We had a brainwave, and we attacked it with passion."

Despite the camouflage, the display is a less-than-subtle method to draw shooters to their specials and reduced items, and it is to be kept up until the end of the week.

The shop offered a special duckshooters' breakfast of bacon, steak, sausages and chops "that will keep the maimai going", Mr Hamilton said.

Shooters can also take their ducks in for processing, into duck salami and sausages. "We get the odd lazy one who wants us to pluck them but we don't do that."

Southland Fish and Game officer Zane Moss said he expected a record-breaking season this year despite a $2 increase in the cost of a licence.

The season starts on Saturday.

Southland Fish and Game manager Maurice Rodway said the exact number of licences bought would not be known until mid-May, but Fish and Game hadalready sent more licences out to stores because of strong demand.

Last year was a record season for Southland, with an average of more than 5000 licences sold.

H & J's Outdoor World manager Rob McNeill said most of their duckshooting licences had sold three or four weeks ago at their "duck night", although he expected a rush later this week.

Outside Sports salesman Ian Murray said sales in Te Anau so far were normal and, while he had not been keeping a roll of licence sales, he expected there to be a last-day panic on Friday.

It was usual for 70 or 80 percent of duck-shooting licences to be sold on the last day, Mr Murray said.

Alan White Sports shop owner David White said duckshooters who had been feeding ponds were noticing more ducks than last season.

That was adding to the hype, he said.