I haven’t hunted for pheasants in a few years, but there’s something about the sport that I find troubling.
As far as the actual act of hunting pheasants, I think it’s great. Watching a dog flush a rooster as it cackles and thunders into the air is a thrill. And the fast-paced shooting is exciting as well.
The thing that bothers me, however, has nothing to do with the hunt itself, but rather the origins of it.
At most Pennsylvania Game Commission pheasant releases, the events attract a crowd of hunters who have an “in” somewhere to find out the date the birds are being stocked. It’s very similar to how in-season trout stockings were conducted years ago when the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission told us the week, but not the day, that a particular waterway was going to be stocked. Yet, despite the secrecy, when the big white stocking truck rolled up, there was always a throng of anglers eagerly waiting. Sometimes anglers are so impatient that they cast a line right as the trout are pouring out of the pipe.
It’s the same thing with pheasant releases.
Even though pheasant stockings are announced by the week, and not the day, hunters always discover the date and they’re waiting to greet the truck. I don’t have a problem with that considering pheasants are a put-and-take resource.
But it doesn’t end there. As pheasants are being released, there are instances of hunters firing at the birds before they even hit the ground.
While anglers casting for trout as they’re being stocked isn’t ideal, it’s relatively harmless.
But when it comes to shooting at pheasants flying out of the crates, the practice isn’t just unethical, it’s dangerous as well. I don’t have any data to suggest this is a common occurrence, but I do know it happens. Aside from the ethical issue – give them a chance to land, at least – there are accounts of pellets raining down on vehicles and people in parking lots and, even worse, dogs being shot as hunters crowd in to bag a few birds. There is also a potential legal issue as it’s against the law to shoot within 150 yards of the PGC stocking truck.
One game warden told me if he or the food and cover workers are getting rained on by pellets during a release, they shut the crates and release the birds somewhere else.
Face it, while it’s hard to tell just how often issues arise with pheasant releases, problems do occur. It’s not the fault of the PGC but rather overzealous hunters more concerned with killing a few birds than enjoying a nice day afield.
But is there a way to fix it? Is there a way to make hunting for recently stocked pheasants safer, and more ethical?
Perhaps.
Since it’s impossible to keep the exact stocking date a secret, why not let the birds go in the dark? If legal shooting hours begin at 7 a.m., for example, why not release the birds at 5 a.m. under the cover of darkness?
It seems like a logical solution. If the pheasant releases are conducted before first light, there will be no crowds, no birds being gunned down before they land and PGC staff wouldn’t be getting peppered with shot as they opened crates.
Still, there would be hurdles to overcome. Agency personnel would need to adjust work schedules, and pheasants at the game farms would have to be collected at night in order to be loaded onto trucks for the long drive to stocking areas. Logistically, it could be a challenge.
Shifting the releases to the evening is another option, allowing the pheasants to settle down during the night before hunters move in the next morning. There could be an issue with predation, however, and hunters who spend money for a pheasant permit might not be too keen on giving predators first chance at the pheasants they paid for.
I do think it would be worthwhile for the agency to experiment with predawn pheasant releases as a means to clean up some of the nonsense that does occur. If it does work, it would level the playing field by preventing anyone from getting a head start, and it could make things much safer.
Improving safety and ethics when it comes to pheasant releases is something that should be considered. And if there’s a way to improve, such a measure would just add more value to the $26.90 permit that funds a valuable program.
