Cost of Reynold's Pheasant Farm per Hunter
Introduction: Regulated pheasant hunting has occurred in New York since 1908. The Richard E. Reynolds state pheasant farm has been in operation since 1927. Pheasant hunting has been a tradition in New York for over 100 years.
How much do pheasant hunters contribute? According to the latest national survey of wildlife dependent recreation; on average pheasant hunters spend $1,451 per hunter, per year. That is broken down into; $676 for non-dog hunting related expenses, and $775 dollars in hunting dog related expenses per hunter, per year.
Reynold's Pheasant Farm supports 4 full-time jobs and 10 temporary jobs. The cost per hunter to support these jobs is between 33 cents and $1.30.
The cost of Reynold's Pheasant Farm, based on a 3 year average of 560,000 hunting licenses bought by both resident and non-resident hunters, is $1.30 per hunter. However, that does not factor in federal wildlife restoration grants. If the DEC applies for and receives a federal grant for it's pheasant program, based on the matching dollars formula, the actual cost to operate the pheasant farm is 33 cents per hunter.
The following is a quote from the New York Time's December 15, 2008 article "Farm’s Closing Time Is Dinner Time for Pheasants". The quote is by Bruce Friedrich, vice president of policy and government affairs for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who hailed the proposed closure of New York State's last remaining state pheasant farm:
“It is a scandal that taxpayers were subsidizing hunters’ sick fetish to the tune of almost a million dollars per year to begin with”
As you can see by our report, Friedrich and others, are wrong about taxpayers paying for the state pheasant program and they are also wrong that it is a financial burden to the state.
“It is a scandal that taxpayers were subsidizing hunters’ sick fetish to the tune of almost a million dollars per year to begin with”
As you can see by our report, Friedrich and others, are wrong about taxpayers paying for the state pheasant program and they are also wrong that it is a financial burden to the state.