Releasing Pheasants

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	Captive-reared pheasants don't have a chance to learn survival skills.

Releasing pheasants is particularly inhumane because stocked birds simply do not have sufficient survival skills to naturalize in the wild after going through the unnatural pen-rearing process. Studies show that pen-reared birds do not avoid predators or display the same flushing behaviors as wild pheasants.

Upon release, most pen-reared birds are quickly snatched up by passing predators or may even succumb to harsh weather conditions. Shockingly, even though wildlife agencies widely accept this premise, they continue to stock birds not for population enhancement, but for hunter recreation.

Some agencies are frank about the intent of stocking programs by referring to their programs as "put-and-take" hunts. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation admits in its 10-year pheasant management plan that "adult pheasant stocking is strictly for hunting recreation and is not intended to increase wild pheasant populations."

To keep the birds from dying before shooters have a chance to kill them, many states release pheasants just prior to the start of the hunt and continuing stocking throughout the season. In some cases, agencies provide hunters with the exact location and time of bird releases, leading shooters to wait in parking lots for the arrival of trucks bearing pheasants.

MassWildlife, the Massachusetts wildlife agency, may release birds every day during pheasant hunting season or, as a representative of the agency stated, the pheasants are released "as close to opening day as possible so hunters can get the full benefit and we're not just feeding the coyotes."

Related Links

Pheasant Stocking

Flying in the Face of Ethics

Rearing Pheasants

States with Pheasant Stocking Programs

Pheasant Preserves: Flushing Fair Chase Out

Tower Shoots

Pheasant Stocking Report 2007