The Case for State Pheasant Stocking Programs
Some of our elected officials who enjoy pheasant hunting.
{left to right: John Kerry, Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, and Chuck Schumer.}
Just like the great American pastime of baseball, Babe Ruth enjoyed
the great American pastime of pheasant hunting.
Understanding the Anti-Pheasant Narrative
The Anti–Pheasant Rhetoric is comprised of predictable narratives. In the next section titled (State Pheasant Programs Are Under Constant Threat) we have included some examples of these narratives, some of which include actual testimony which was given to policy makers during pending actions to close state pheasant programs.
The Anti-Pheasant Hunting Narrative (a set of predictable stories with repetitive refrains) is a cleverly layered case against pheasant hunting purposely designed with seductive premises which resonate with a broad public. That diverse group includes some conservationists and hunters who are willing to bolster (the pheasant and dove rhetoric of the Humane Society) to undermine certain forms of hunting.
The premises which form these narratives do not have merit and will not stand up under scrutiny. Nevertheless, regardless of merit, policy makers cannot be trusted to practice due diligence in scrutinizing hunting-related matters.
It is up to the hunting community to hold policy makers accountable to the facts. It is 100% necessary for you to contact policy makers with two goals: to relay the facts and to be counted.
When a sizable number of hunters do not speak out about a proposal, policy makers are not compelled to investigate the veracity of narratives and are likely to assume the hunting community doesn’t care about the outcome anyway.
Mischaracterizing Invasive Biology, Ecology, and Wildlife Science … read more
The premier tactic of anti-hunting organizations is to deliver a case in a fashion which embellishes facts and accepted concepts in order to make their rhetoric sound scientific and create an extremely convoluted and multi-layered narrative. Sorting out narratives constructed this way requires extensive time and effort. Well intentioned persons, including attorneys without a background in science, are tricked by these stunts all the time. When experts disagree with the premises set forth, anti-hunters charge that the expert is “pandering” to the hunting community.
The hunting community tends to underestimate the influence of a letter in their local newspaper or on social media. When misinformation gets repeated enough times, it becomes accepted as fact. When that point arrives it is very difficult to dislodge incorrect information or present additional facts.
State Pheasant Stocking
* Increases Conservation Funding
* Generates general economic activity
* Paid for by hunters
* Undertaken on both private and public land
* Conserves and maintains ephemeral habitats
The ephemeral habitat maintained for pheasant stocking has seven valuable characteristics:
- Increases biodiversity
- Conserves Soil
- Conserves, filters, and recharges water
- Prevents erosion
- Sequesters carbon, a greenhouse gas.
- Abstains or greatly reduces the use of herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizer.
- Reduces wind, snow drift, chemical drift, noise, heat, and cold around human habitation.
Pheasant Are Not An Invasive Species
- The primary go-to premise of anti-pheasant advocates is a gross mischaracterization of invasive biology. To be considered an invasive species, several criteria must exist that do not apply to pheasant. Not only is there scientific criteria, there is also a legal definition with criteria that pheasant do not meet. We outlined the actual law in a previous article which is available on our sister website The Bird Hunting Society.
Unbeknownst to most; pheasants are not the only introduced, non-native game bird. Left to right: Snowcock, Chukar, Grey Partridge, Hen Pheasant, Rooster Pheasant.
The Claim of the Humane Society that game farm pheasant starve at a higher rate than other wildlife was disproved in 1939
Scientists have had knowledge about the foraging ability and the winter survival of pheasant and bobwhite for decades. An early starvation physiology study of 100 game farm pheasant and 40 captive (game farm) bobwhite was undertaken by Paul L. Errington from 1929 through 1934, which was published in the science journal known as The Wilson Bulletin in 1939. This 37 page paper can be read at this link: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=icwdmother
Errington is a well-known and respected wildlife researcher at Iowa State College who most famous for his work on muskrats and the identification of a disease affecting them, which has been named after him, Errington’s Disease.
In concise terms, this study was a comparative analysis of hardiness of native bobwhite and introduced ring-necked pheasant. For Paul Errington's Bio... Click HERE.
The study concluded few pheasant starve during harsh upper Midwest winters and pheasant are more resilient to temporary food crisis during low temperatures and deep snow than bobwhite.
Other studies, such as one by Green and Beed 1936, have obtained findings consistent with to Errington’s. Green and Beed found from a population of 400 pheasant, out of 250 deaths, only one was due to starvation.
Click HERE to see game bird crop contents.
Pheasant Programs Are Not Funded By Taxpayers
Scientists have had knowledge about the foraging ability and the winter survival of pheasant and bobwhite for decades. An early starvation physiology study of 100 game farm pheasant and 40 captive (game farm) bobwhite was undertaken by Paul L. Errington from 1929 through 1934, which was published in the science journal known as The Wilson Bulletin in 1939. This 37 page paper can be read at this link: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=icwdmother
Errington is a well-known and respected wildlife researcher at Iowa State College who most famous for his work on muskrats and the identification of a disease affecting them, which has been named after him, Errington’s Disease.
In concise terms, this study was a comparative analysis of hardiness of native bobwhite and introduced ring-necked pheasant. For Paul Errington's Bio... Click HERE.
The study concluded few pheasant starve during harsh upper Midwest winters and pheasant are more resilient to temporary food crisis during low temperatures and deep snow than bobwhite.
Other studies, such as one by Green and Beed 1936, have obtained findings consistent with to Errington’s. Green and Beed found from a population of 400 pheasant, out of 250 deaths, only one was due to starvation.
Click HERE to see game bird crop contents.
Pheasant Programs Are Not Funded By Taxpayers
- In New Jersey and Massachusetts the pheasant program is completely funded by pheasant hunters through a pheasant stamp.
- In Wyoming and some other states the pheasant program is funded by a combination of hunting license revenue and a pheasant stamp.
- The NY DEC has broad responsibilities and therefore does indeed receive tax dollars. However, the Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Marine Resources is the section within the DEC which administers hunting programs and is funded largely by hunters. Although primarily funded by hunters, not the general taxpayer, the division’s scope of responsibilities extends beyond hunting programs and game species.
- On average, wildlife divisions across the USA derive an average of 75% of their annual budget from sportsmen even though their responsibilities are broader than hunting programs and game species.
Pheasant stamp dollars not only help to fund pheasant hunting, they help to preserve habitat for non-game species.
Pheasant Programs Pay Rather Than Cost
Pheasant Are Sporting
• Birds are generally smarter than mammals, and among birds, pheasants are one of the smartest. Any person who has had a bird as a pet or studied birds, will attest to the intelligence and learning ability of birds.
• Just like any other animal, pheasants can be socialized to become tame and can be trained.
• Without such human interaction prey species are innately wary of people, dogs, and other predators.
• State wildlife agencies do not manage their pheasant programs in a manner that enhances tameness. (“It’s how you raise them”).
• There is great likelihood that someone would encounter pheasant in NY that was stocked by an entity other than the DEC on either public or private land. Annually the DEC stocks about 25,000 pheasant. However, annually 60,000 are stocked by five prisons, 160 4-H Clubs, and numerous hunting clubs. An additional 15,000 are stocked by landowners. There are more stocked by individuals, hunting and dog trial clubs, and dog trainers. Stocked pheasant will commonly disperse two to five miles or more from the point of release.
• When pheasant are flushed they will fly six times the distance of wild born ruffed grouse, woodcock, and bobwhite.
• Pheasant evade hunters by running a half mile or more through dense grass. Ruffed grouse, woodcock, and bobwhite do not exhibit this behavior, nor do they have the physical size and strength to do so.
• Pheasant are smart and their intelligence and wildness are enhanced by state wildlife agencies through the practice of outcrossing with Manchurian strains and avoiding inbreeding depression.
• Likely due to instinct to avoid predators combined with natural and breeding enhanced intelligence, pheasant quickly learn to avoid hunters.
• Since few game birds live longer than one year, most birds encountered by hunters are young of the year. (Born around May 15 and encountered in October, thus about 18 weeks old). The wariness of state stocked pheasant are indeed comparable to young of the year ruffed grouse, woodcock, bobwhite, and wild-born pheasant.
- Pheasant hunting has existed in the USA for a long time
- The first pheasant hunting season in NY was in 1908
- According to the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation hunters spend between $775 and $1,098 every year on their hunting dogs alone.
- In addition to hunting dog – related spending, hunters spend an additional $676 a year on other pheasant-hunting related items.
- Combined spending for pheasant hunting is $1,451 per hunter, annually.
Pheasant Are Sporting
• Birds are generally smarter than mammals, and among birds, pheasants are one of the smartest. Any person who has had a bird as a pet or studied birds, will attest to the intelligence and learning ability of birds.
• Just like any other animal, pheasants can be socialized to become tame and can be trained.
• Without such human interaction prey species are innately wary of people, dogs, and other predators.
• State wildlife agencies do not manage their pheasant programs in a manner that enhances tameness. (“It’s how you raise them”).
• There is great likelihood that someone would encounter pheasant in NY that was stocked by an entity other than the DEC on either public or private land. Annually the DEC stocks about 25,000 pheasant. However, annually 60,000 are stocked by five prisons, 160 4-H Clubs, and numerous hunting clubs. An additional 15,000 are stocked by landowners. There are more stocked by individuals, hunting and dog trial clubs, and dog trainers. Stocked pheasant will commonly disperse two to five miles or more from the point of release.
• When pheasant are flushed they will fly six times the distance of wild born ruffed grouse, woodcock, and bobwhite.
• Pheasant evade hunters by running a half mile or more through dense grass. Ruffed grouse, woodcock, and bobwhite do not exhibit this behavior, nor do they have the physical size and strength to do so.
• Pheasant are smart and their intelligence and wildness are enhanced by state wildlife agencies through the practice of outcrossing with Manchurian strains and avoiding inbreeding depression.
• Likely due to instinct to avoid predators combined with natural and breeding enhanced intelligence, pheasant quickly learn to avoid hunters.
• Since few game birds live longer than one year, most birds encountered by hunters are young of the year. (Born around May 15 and encountered in October, thus about 18 weeks old). The wariness of state stocked pheasant are indeed comparable to young of the year ruffed grouse, woodcock, bobwhite, and wild-born pheasant.
From Field to Table... Pheasant Recipe
The Position of The Wildlife Society
TWS does not have a position statement on state pheasant stocking programs. However, they do have a statement on Shooting Preserves. Link: http://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Shooting_Preserves.pdf
Here is an exert from that statement: “Properly managed shooting preserves offer recreation opportunities to the hunting public, provide an opportunity for those who have never hunted to be introduced to hunting, are highly valuable for training bird dogs, and have potential to provide demonstration sites for desirable wildlife management practices”.
Within that statement, TWS clearly delineates between game bird shooting preserves of which they approve; and big game high fence preserves of which they do not approve.
Shooting Preserves are much different than State Pheasant Stocking Programs. We emphasize that all other forms of stocking differ from state-run programs and therefore are not comparable.
Never the less, TWS’s position on shooting preserves is clear that they are not objectionable to pheasant stocking in a general sense and recognize the importance of pheasant stocking in hunter recruitment and increased hunting opportunity.
Habitat Management, Pheasant Stocking, Trap and Transfer
Pheasants Forever
Miscellaneous
TWS does not have a position statement on state pheasant stocking programs. However, they do have a statement on Shooting Preserves. Link: http://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Shooting_Preserves.pdf
Here is an exert from that statement: “Properly managed shooting preserves offer recreation opportunities to the hunting public, provide an opportunity for those who have never hunted to be introduced to hunting, are highly valuable for training bird dogs, and have potential to provide demonstration sites for desirable wildlife management practices”.
Within that statement, TWS clearly delineates between game bird shooting preserves of which they approve; and big game high fence preserves of which they do not approve.
Shooting Preserves are much different than State Pheasant Stocking Programs. We emphasize that all other forms of stocking differ from state-run programs and therefore are not comparable.
Never the less, TWS’s position on shooting preserves is clear that they are not objectionable to pheasant stocking in a general sense and recognize the importance of pheasant stocking in hunter recruitment and increased hunting opportunity.
Habitat Management, Pheasant Stocking, Trap and Transfer
- The goals of pheasant stocking are to provide hunting opportunity and sustain a tradition that is a century old. We believe in both of those goals.
- Pheasant stocking programs across the USA are a huge success in terms of creating hunting opportunity. Section 11-0303 of New York’s Environmental Conservation Law directs the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to develop and carry out programs that promote the maintenance of desirable species in ecological balance, with due consideration of ecological factors, the importance of fish and wildlife resources for recreational purposes, and public safety. Additionally, the Department lists the following as one of its goals of the Bureau of Wildlife: Ensure that we provide sustainable uses of New York’s wildlife for an informed public.
- It is common knowledge that stocking pheasant to restore or establish wild populations does not work and we are not suggesting otherwise. The primary reason it does not work is because reproduction fails. With no reproduction the population only persists as long as the individuals.
- Trap and transfer of wild-born pheasant will only succeed where there is adequate habitat.
- Pheasant habitat management will only succeed on large, unfragmented, contiguous blocks of land. Latitude, soil type, and even soil richness are suspected to factors affecting pheasant.
- Most of the historical range of wild pheasant is permanently lost to development and reforestation. Not deforestation, but rather reforestation.
- We support pheasant habitat management where it is viable.
- Stocking is not a replacement for habitat management, however, the opposite is equally true.
- The distinct topics of state pheasant stocking programs and wild pheasant conservation are often conflated.
- The section below on Pheasants Forever, and the additional subject matter listed at the end of this report are sources of information about the Conservation of Wild Pheasants.
Pheasants Forever
- Pheasants Forever is an extremely effective habitat conservation organization. 140,000 members contribute the cost of a hunting license or pheasant stamp to the organization, making their conservation funding larger than that of a wildlife agency in states which have few hunters, such as New Jersey and Vermont which each have only around 70,000 hunters. As a one-species, non- governmental organization, PF also has the advantage of far less politics effecting how they spend their member’s money - spending 90.42 cents of every dollar raised directly on its wildlife habitat conservation mission.
- In 2014 alone, PF spent $69.2 million to enhance 436,768 acres of wildlife habitat and made 31,074 landowner contacts resulting in more than 1 million acres being enrolled in the Conservation Reserve program.
- We endorse Pheasants Forever and acknowledge that habitat conservation, enhancement, and maintenance is key to sustaining, restoring, or expanding wild pheasant populations. However, we also recognize the value, long tradition, and role in hunter recruitment / retention of state pheasant stocking programs.
Miscellaneous
- Only one in ten wild-born pheasant live as long as two years.
- New York’s first pheasant hunting season was in 1908.
- In his State of the State Address, Governor James J. Blanchard identified the rebuilding of Michigan’s wild pheasant population as one of the state’s most important natural resource goals.
- In addition to ring-necked pheasant, three other game birds have been introduced to the United States; the snowcock, the grey partridge, and the chukar. None of these birds have been deemed invasive.
Comments From the Hunting Community:
“You obviously have no idea what the purpose of the stocking programs is. Stocked birds are only for hunting. They are not meant to replenish bird populations. So they are very effective”.
“Stocked bird programs help in attracting new hunters and youngsters to the sport. It is a lot more fun to hunt or fish if one actually gets an opportunity to at least see birds or get fish on the line. With the constant anti-hunting pressure, we need all the new, young hunters we can attract to the sport”.
“The pheasant program in NY has been going on since the 1930s? or so. The total cost of the program is a small percentage of the DEC's budget and is offset by revenue gained. Some operating costs are derived from federal grants and the program currently supports three permanent jobs and over 10 part time and seasonal jobs. The state fish hatchery program is larger, yet few question it”.
“PF is a great habitat conservation organization, as is DU and RGS. However, in their zeal to promote the worthy cause of habitat conservation and educate the public why incubator-hatched birds will not restore or establish wild-hatched populations, PF as well as the RGS, have mis-characterized both the relevant research (for example, Flake, et al) and state stocking programs”
“In NY, the state professionally handles 25,000 pheasant for release. However in addition to unknown number of birds handled by dog trainers, field trial clubs, commercial shooting preserves, and individuals, 15,000 are handled by landowners; and 60,000 are handled by 5 prisons, numerous hunting clubs, and 160 4-H clubs. The birds handled by laypersons and/or persons concerned about cost or profit do not behave like the birds handled by professional wildlife staff. For example, some operations even "train" their birds to a whistle to come in for feeding. Anti-hunters and archery deer hunters see this on videos or rant about it and conflate it with state pheasant programs”
“With an adequate program, stocked pheasant often behave very much like wild-hatched birds, even as difficult as grey partridge (huns) and ruffed grouse. After a little hunting pressure stocked birds get even tougher. They survive hunters better than predators, and those that do not become a meal are good foragers that do not starve at a much higher rate than native species. The issue is they do not reproduce successfully. Even the most wary wild-born species occasionally look down gun barrels, and that includes whitetail deer. Any observer of nature knows that”.
“The fact is, the state pheasant stocking programs are done professionally - they select the genes, introduce new genes periodically to prevent inbreeding, raise and feed and release the birds with a method. Private clubs, commercial shooting preserves and individuals do not have the knowledge and/or resources to do the same. And, even occasionally a state stocked bird will be unwary, but that is the exception not the rule, it isn’t wise to judge on the exception”.
“Birds are smart, smarter than mammals such as dogs and horses and even chimps. And, among birds, pheasant are one of the smartest. Any (truly) experienced bird hunter knows that. They learn quick. A pheasant stocked on opening day can in a matter of days be more wary and more evasive than an October young of the year ruffed grouse or whitetail fawn”.
“The DEC does a good job with genetic selection - for example crossing the more wary Manchurian race with the Chinese race and avoiding inbreeding. This, genetic program combined with proper handling actually enhances the wildness of their stock, perhaps in many instances producing exceptionally wary birds. In any animal husbandry situation there are always a handful that are outliers – that even occurs in nature. Who says we should judge the entire program on the outliers?”
“So if I make up some numbers; and say, for example that 92% of released pheasant are taken by predators and starvation - it sounds bad. But if you include in that statement that 90% of wild-born ruffed grouse and wild turkeys also succumb to predators and starvation - the perspective is much different”.
“When flushed an incubator-hatched pheasant on average, flies considerably farther than a grouse, a woodcock or a wild bobwhite do when they are flushed”.
“How can a non-hunter, or even a hunter without experience over several seasons with a variety of game birds, make a sound judgement about whether stocked pheasant are sporting? Such is no more than speculation which adheres to the ideology of animal rights and opinion based on limited anecdotal experiences, respectively”. People who do not even eat meat opine about the palatability of various game meats, is that credible as well”?
“If the bow hunters are not satisfied that 99.9% of everyone’s license fees goes to whitetail deer hunting programs, why is it acceptable that only .1% of my license revenue does not”?
“National organizations representing hunters or gun rights tout the narrative we must all stick together, but when it comes to pheasant hunting, they are in bed with the antis. If our passion gets abolished the antis will look for new lovers and will then find us attractive”.
“The anti-pheasant narrative usually delivers the rhetoric with anecdotal accounts that are either patent lies, exaggerations, or perception errors. However, not everyone who raises and releases pheasant follows the same regime as the DEC and other state wildlife agencies. Pheasant that are not derived from the DEC or other state wildlife agencies often are not as wary or otherwise behave tamer or less natural than the state agency birds. Private commercial operations raising birds for meat will actually do the exact opposite of state wildlife agencies. That is they will select genes which express much different behavioral and physical traits and even train their flock to gather for feeding. There is not an animal species on the planet which has not been trained to gather for feeding, but it is absurd to charge that state wildlife agencies practice this on pheasant.”
“I am sure most of the claims of “helpless” pheasant are fabrications or perception errors. However, it isn’t even recognized that the DEC is not the only entity breeding and stocking pheasant. Even if such claims had validity, I have not heard anything to substantiate the assumption these are DEC birds. In NY, the state professionally handles 25,000 pheasant for release. However in addition to unknown number of birds handled by dog trainers, field trial clubs, commercial shooting preserves, and individuals, 15,000 are handled by landowners; and 60,000 are handled by 5 prisons, numerous hunting clubs, and 160 4-H clubs”.
“Over 60% of the ruffed grouse which hunters encounter in October are only about 18 weeks old. Often, state stocked pheasant have equal or greater survival skills than young of the year grouse. Any wildlife biologist or experienced bird hunter knows that”.
“There are exceptions to every rule. Stocked pheasant are sometimes quite dumb. An occasional pheasant will sit in a tree or strut out in the open like a chicken. But sometimes so will ruffed grouse. However, pheasant will also resemble the brilliance of ruffed grouse and use the same escape strategies. However, in addition to flying six times as far as a grouse when flushed, they have more survival behaviors than grouse, not less. Such as the ability to run through dense vegetation for a half mile or more. Anyone who tells you stocked pheasant are easy doesn’t have a clue”.
“Tax payers subsidize pheasant stocking? Oh really, on which continent”?
“According to NYS DEC’s 2006 small game hunter survey, pheasant hunting was one of the most popular small game hunting activities in the New York. The survey indicates that 60,000 hunters harvested 130,000 pheasants. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) report from 2006, small game hunters spend over $600 each, per year, related to hunting small game. Most pheasant hunters spend more than that because of additional costs involved in raising dogs to hunt with. Figuring just the $600 per hunter, for 60,000 pheasant hunters, pheasant hunting adds $36 million to the local economies across New York State”.
“One great ringneck accomplishment is simply that it has done no harm. Time and again, wildlife brought to this country from elsewhere has displaced native species, wreaked economic havoc or worse. Alien starlings, for example, deprive bluebirds and other cavity-nesters of homes. Pigeons, also immigrants, defile buildings and are often considered a nuisance.
But the pheasant, which neatly filled a farmland niche, has caused no problems. "Unlike many exotics, pheasants have a long history of success in America without any known detrimental impact on native birds," says Doug Inkley, a National Wildlife Federation ecologist”.
Pete Squibb, Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist:
“Like ringnecks (pheasant) before them, Sichuans (pheasant) appear to be a trouble-free immigrant. "These birds have caused absolutely no problems for any native species”.
“You obviously have no idea what the purpose of the stocking programs is. Stocked birds are only for hunting. They are not meant to replenish bird populations. So they are very effective”.
“Stocked bird programs help in attracting new hunters and youngsters to the sport. It is a lot more fun to hunt or fish if one actually gets an opportunity to at least see birds or get fish on the line. With the constant anti-hunting pressure, we need all the new, young hunters we can attract to the sport”.
“The pheasant program in NY has been going on since the 1930s? or so. The total cost of the program is a small percentage of the DEC's budget and is offset by revenue gained. Some operating costs are derived from federal grants and the program currently supports three permanent jobs and over 10 part time and seasonal jobs. The state fish hatchery program is larger, yet few question it”.
“PF is a great habitat conservation organization, as is DU and RGS. However, in their zeal to promote the worthy cause of habitat conservation and educate the public why incubator-hatched birds will not restore or establish wild-hatched populations, PF as well as the RGS, have mis-characterized both the relevant research (for example, Flake, et al) and state stocking programs”
“In NY, the state professionally handles 25,000 pheasant for release. However in addition to unknown number of birds handled by dog trainers, field trial clubs, commercial shooting preserves, and individuals, 15,000 are handled by landowners; and 60,000 are handled by 5 prisons, numerous hunting clubs, and 160 4-H clubs. The birds handled by laypersons and/or persons concerned about cost or profit do not behave like the birds handled by professional wildlife staff. For example, some operations even "train" their birds to a whistle to come in for feeding. Anti-hunters and archery deer hunters see this on videos or rant about it and conflate it with state pheasant programs”
“With an adequate program, stocked pheasant often behave very much like wild-hatched birds, even as difficult as grey partridge (huns) and ruffed grouse. After a little hunting pressure stocked birds get even tougher. They survive hunters better than predators, and those that do not become a meal are good foragers that do not starve at a much higher rate than native species. The issue is they do not reproduce successfully. Even the most wary wild-born species occasionally look down gun barrels, and that includes whitetail deer. Any observer of nature knows that”.
“The fact is, the state pheasant stocking programs are done professionally - they select the genes, introduce new genes periodically to prevent inbreeding, raise and feed and release the birds with a method. Private clubs, commercial shooting preserves and individuals do not have the knowledge and/or resources to do the same. And, even occasionally a state stocked bird will be unwary, but that is the exception not the rule, it isn’t wise to judge on the exception”.
“Birds are smart, smarter than mammals such as dogs and horses and even chimps. And, among birds, pheasant are one of the smartest. Any (truly) experienced bird hunter knows that. They learn quick. A pheasant stocked on opening day can in a matter of days be more wary and more evasive than an October young of the year ruffed grouse or whitetail fawn”.
“The DEC does a good job with genetic selection - for example crossing the more wary Manchurian race with the Chinese race and avoiding inbreeding. This, genetic program combined with proper handling actually enhances the wildness of their stock, perhaps in many instances producing exceptionally wary birds. In any animal husbandry situation there are always a handful that are outliers – that even occurs in nature. Who says we should judge the entire program on the outliers?”
“So if I make up some numbers; and say, for example that 92% of released pheasant are taken by predators and starvation - it sounds bad. But if you include in that statement that 90% of wild-born ruffed grouse and wild turkeys also succumb to predators and starvation - the perspective is much different”.
“When flushed an incubator-hatched pheasant on average, flies considerably farther than a grouse, a woodcock or a wild bobwhite do when they are flushed”.
“How can a non-hunter, or even a hunter without experience over several seasons with a variety of game birds, make a sound judgement about whether stocked pheasant are sporting? Such is no more than speculation which adheres to the ideology of animal rights and opinion based on limited anecdotal experiences, respectively”. People who do not even eat meat opine about the palatability of various game meats, is that credible as well”?
“If the bow hunters are not satisfied that 99.9% of everyone’s license fees goes to whitetail deer hunting programs, why is it acceptable that only .1% of my license revenue does not”?
“National organizations representing hunters or gun rights tout the narrative we must all stick together, but when it comes to pheasant hunting, they are in bed with the antis. If our passion gets abolished the antis will look for new lovers and will then find us attractive”.
“The anti-pheasant narrative usually delivers the rhetoric with anecdotal accounts that are either patent lies, exaggerations, or perception errors. However, not everyone who raises and releases pheasant follows the same regime as the DEC and other state wildlife agencies. Pheasant that are not derived from the DEC or other state wildlife agencies often are not as wary or otherwise behave tamer or less natural than the state agency birds. Private commercial operations raising birds for meat will actually do the exact opposite of state wildlife agencies. That is they will select genes which express much different behavioral and physical traits and even train their flock to gather for feeding. There is not an animal species on the planet which has not been trained to gather for feeding, but it is absurd to charge that state wildlife agencies practice this on pheasant.”
“I am sure most of the claims of “helpless” pheasant are fabrications or perception errors. However, it isn’t even recognized that the DEC is not the only entity breeding and stocking pheasant. Even if such claims had validity, I have not heard anything to substantiate the assumption these are DEC birds. In NY, the state professionally handles 25,000 pheasant for release. However in addition to unknown number of birds handled by dog trainers, field trial clubs, commercial shooting preserves, and individuals, 15,000 are handled by landowners; and 60,000 are handled by 5 prisons, numerous hunting clubs, and 160 4-H clubs”.
“Over 60% of the ruffed grouse which hunters encounter in October are only about 18 weeks old. Often, state stocked pheasant have equal or greater survival skills than young of the year grouse. Any wildlife biologist or experienced bird hunter knows that”.
“There are exceptions to every rule. Stocked pheasant are sometimes quite dumb. An occasional pheasant will sit in a tree or strut out in the open like a chicken. But sometimes so will ruffed grouse. However, pheasant will also resemble the brilliance of ruffed grouse and use the same escape strategies. However, in addition to flying six times as far as a grouse when flushed, they have more survival behaviors than grouse, not less. Such as the ability to run through dense vegetation for a half mile or more. Anyone who tells you stocked pheasant are easy doesn’t have a clue”.
“Tax payers subsidize pheasant stocking? Oh really, on which continent”?
“According to NYS DEC’s 2006 small game hunter survey, pheasant hunting was one of the most popular small game hunting activities in the New York. The survey indicates that 60,000 hunters harvested 130,000 pheasants. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) report from 2006, small game hunters spend over $600 each, per year, related to hunting small game. Most pheasant hunters spend more than that because of additional costs involved in raising dogs to hunt with. Figuring just the $600 per hunter, for 60,000 pheasant hunters, pheasant hunting adds $36 million to the local economies across New York State”.
“One great ringneck accomplishment is simply that it has done no harm. Time and again, wildlife brought to this country from elsewhere has displaced native species, wreaked economic havoc or worse. Alien starlings, for example, deprive bluebirds and other cavity-nesters of homes. Pigeons, also immigrants, defile buildings and are often considered a nuisance.
But the pheasant, which neatly filled a farmland niche, has caused no problems. "Unlike many exotics, pheasants have a long history of success in America without any known detrimental impact on native birds," says Doug Inkley, a National Wildlife Federation ecologist”.
Pete Squibb, Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist:
“Like ringnecks (pheasant) before them, Sichuans (pheasant) appear to be a trouble-free immigrant. "These birds have caused absolutely no problems for any native species”.
State Wildlife Agencies
• Wisconsin DNR Pheasant program:
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/gamefarm.html
• Michigan
http://ww2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/HuntingWildlifeHabitat/Reports/WLD-library/3200-3299/3271.pdf
• Indiana
http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/WMFS_Pheasant.pdf
• Pennsylvania
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=601421&mode=2
• Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/hunting-fishing-wildlife-watching/hunting/pheasant-hunting-in-massachusetts.html
• New York
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/49071.html
NY State DEC Ten Year Pheasant Restoration and Conservation Plan
• NY Legislature
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Peter-D-Lopez/story/30305/
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/catharine-young/reynolds-game-farm-stays-open
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-c-2009-01-26-62826.113122-Gov-convinced-to-keep-pheasant-game-farm-open.html
• Wisconsin DNR Pheasant program:
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/gamefarm.html
• Michigan
http://ww2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/HuntingWildlifeHabitat/Reports/WLD-library/3200-3299/3271.pdf
• Indiana
http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/WMFS_Pheasant.pdf
• Pennsylvania
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=601421&mode=2
• Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/hunting-fishing-wildlife-watching/hunting/pheasant-hunting-in-massachusetts.html
• New York
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/49071.html
NY State DEC Ten Year Pheasant Restoration and Conservation Plan
• NY Legislature
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Peter-D-Lopez/story/30305/
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/catharine-young/reynolds-game-farm-stays-open
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-c-2009-01-26-62826.113122-Gov-convinced-to-keep-pheasant-game-farm-open.html
Additional Subject Matter Reading
From the NY DEC:
• Management Plan for Ring-necked Pheasant in NY State 2010 - 2020: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/pheasantplan10.pdf
• http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7273.html
• Ring-necked Pheasant Habitat Focus Area
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72543.html
National Wildlife Federation on pheasants
https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/1992/A-Pleasant-Bird-is-the-Pheasant.aspx
Economic Report on Pheasant Hunting South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks
http://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/pheasant-economics.aspx
NY Hunters Poised Sue Governor Patterson and DEC Commissioner Granis Over Pheasant Farm
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/state-pheasant-farm-attack-defeated.html
Pictures of Game Bird Crop Contents
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/bird-crops.html
The Bird Hunting Society
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/
Ring-Necked Pheasant – Invasive Species or Valuable Gamebird?
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/ring-necked-pheasant-ndash-invasive-species-or-valuable-gamebird.html
From the NY DEC:
• Management Plan for Ring-necked Pheasant in NY State 2010 - 2020: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/pheasantplan10.pdf
• http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7273.html
• Ring-necked Pheasant Habitat Focus Area
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72543.html
National Wildlife Federation on pheasants
https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/1992/A-Pleasant-Bird-is-the-Pheasant.aspx
Economic Report on Pheasant Hunting South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks
http://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/pheasant-economics.aspx
NY Hunters Poised Sue Governor Patterson and DEC Commissioner Granis Over Pheasant Farm
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/state-pheasant-farm-attack-defeated.html
Pictures of Game Bird Crop Contents
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/bird-crops.html
The Bird Hunting Society
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/
Ring-Necked Pheasant – Invasive Species or Valuable Gamebird?
http://thebirdhuntingsociety.weebly.com/ring-necked-pheasant-ndash-invasive-species-or-valuable-gamebird.html
National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan:
http://www.fishwildlife.org/files/NationalWildPheasantConservationPlan.pdf
Strategy to increase Quality Hunting on National Wildlife Refuges:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/vision/pdfs/StrategyToIncreaseQualityHuntingandFishingonNationalWildlifeRefuges.pdf
North American Wildlife Conservation Model:
http://emwh.org/pdf/conservation/North%20American%20Model%20of%20Wildlife%20Conservation.pdf
The Economic Importance of Hunting in America
http://www.fishwildlife.org/files/Hunting_Economic_Impact.pdf
Injurious Species:
http://www.fws.gov/injuriouswildlife/catex.html
http://www.fws.gov/le/injurious-wildlife.html
http://www.fws.gov/injuriouswildlife/pdf_files/InjuriousWildlifeFactSheet2010.pdf
http://www.fws.gov/injuriouswildlife/
Executive Order 13112:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/laws/execorder.shtml
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1999-02-08/pdf/99-3184.pdf
http://www.fws.gov/invasives/laws.html
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=natlinvasive
New York/Invasive Species:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/laws/ny.shtml
http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/93848.html