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A seagull flies past beachgoers on Bondi Beach in Sydney January 25, 2008. Australia's Bondi Beach, the country's most famous strip of sand, was placed on the National Heritage List on Friday to protect its sand, cliffs, waves, parks and surf lifesaving clubs. Bondi is Australia's third most visited landmark and local officials say it is being loved to death, with traffic gridlock on summer days and massive amounts of day-tripper rubbish. Reuters/Mick Tsikas

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia has requested a new name for the 36-year-old Australian band Hunters & Collectors in a letter on Thursday. The organisation aims to raise awareness about the plight of waterbirds threatened by hunters.

In PETA's letter, the animal rights group said that by changing the band's name, people would be discouraged from hunting animals. The group believed that the Hunters & Collectors has never intended to promote the killing of defenceless animals. But PETA pointed out in its letter that the band's name may just make hunting seem appealing to its fans.

“Some might say that the idea of changing the band’s name is for the birds, and PETA would agree,” PETA’s associate director of campaigns Ashley Fruno said. She further explained that the move was for the ducks and other birds that were shot and died slowly from their wounds.

PETA said that nearly 300,000 Australian waterbirds face an agonising death during the hunting season. The duck hunting open season already started last Feb. 18 and will end until June 25 in South Australia. Meanwhile, the season opening in Victoria and Tasmania is set next week.

"Horrifyingly, one in every four ducks shot is left to die slowly and painfully, sometimes of starvation or thirst, and many birds not considered “legal game” will be killed in the crossfire," Fruno said. She expressed that the changing of the band's name coincided with the Hunters & Collectors' Clipsal 500 Concert in Adelaide on Saturday. Some of the new names suggested by PETA were Hunters & Collectors of Antiques, Hunters & Collectors of Vinyl Records and Hunters & Collectors of Beer Cans.

In a report of Nine News Australia, fans of the Hunters and Collectors disagreed on the suggestion of PETA to change the name of the band. Moreover, the iconic rock band confirmed that its name would remain the same. The eight-member rock band was formed in 1981.

Hunters and Collectors band has Mark Seymour on lead vocals and lead guitar. The band also has Jack Howard on trumpet, keyboards and backing vocals; Michael Waters on trombone and keyboards and Jeremy Smith on French horn, guitars, keyboards, programming and backing vocals. The other members include Doug Falconer on drums and percussion; John Archer on bass and backing vocals; Robert Miles on live sound/mixing, art/design and Barry Palmer on lead guitar.

Meanwhile, PETA is established in 2008 following the success of its affiliates’ campaigns against mulesing in conjunction with Australians’ demand for information on animal protection issues. The group works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, legislation, celebrity involvement and protest campaigns. It deals with a variety of issues like the cruel killing of birds and other pests.

Here are some interesting reactions from Twitter.

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