New York's Canned Hunt of 30,000 Human Raised Pheasants

The "release" of 30,000 pheasants raised by humans to open hunting areas is like releasing the domestic ducks of Central Park to the wilds of New York State during hunting season. -- A canned hunt essentially.

A particularly disturbing piece of news this past week (though not covered by general media) is this press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:

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A New NYSDEC Press Release Has Been Issued: DEC Announces Release of Pheasants

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http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2013/09/dec_releasing_30000_pheasants.html

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According to the release, approximately, 30,000 pheasants will be "released" as targets for youthful and other hunters on public lands open for hunting this October.

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The pheasants are part of, "The Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program" in which (this year) more than 41,000 chicks were distributed at only one day old to 4-H clubs and hunters in May or June to be raised, cared for and fed. Then, when fully grown a few months later, the presumably, semi-tame birds are "released" as easy targets for hunters' guns.

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Though the press release doesn't say, this is tantamount to what is usually referred to as a "canned hunt."

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Chicks raised by humans one day from hatching surely imprint on humans and additionally have learned nothing from natural bird parents regarding survival in the wild or avoidance of hunters' guns.

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This would be like releasing the domestic ducks in Central Park to the wilds of New York State during hunting season.  The ducks would walk up to hunters expecting food handouts and instead be met with bullets.

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One needs to seriously question a program like this and its supposed "need."

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Are there not enough wild pheasants for hunters to shoot at?

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This seems strange considering that in FY 2012,  USDA Wildlife Services deliberately killed 508 pheasants presumably because the birds were causing a "nuisance" somewhere.

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http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/prog_data/2012_prog_data/PDR_G/Basic

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One would think that even "real hunters" would be opposed to a program like this as there is nothing "sportsmen" about it.

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There is no figuring out of flight paths, birds flying patterns or even how the winds are blowing.

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Just get out there with a gun and wait for the human-raised pheasants to be "released."  --Birds who have no idea where they are or where to go and what to do.

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One has to wonder how many, if any of the pheasants will actually fly?  One can only imagine a bloodbath as the "sitting pheasants" try to figure out a new environment while bullets fly all around them.

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Of course pheasants aren't the only birds to be captively raised by humans and then released into the wilds.

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The ancestors of our so-called, "resident" Canada goose population also were.  

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But, in that case, the capture, wing clipping, breeding and later release of thousands of Canada geese raised by humans was supposedly done to prevent the birds from actually going extinct.  -- A scenario not acceptable to hunters who regard geese as a favorite target.  (Hunting clubs were largely involved in the breeding, raising and later release of thousands of Canada geese in order to restore a hunting population).

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Geese raised and released by humans were however, quite different from those wild geese making the thousand mile migratory journeys twice a year to and from the Arctic or Canada.

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The America-raised geese had no instincts to "migrate" places they had never been and were not hatched.

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Moreover, these human imprinted geese were quite comfortable around and acclimated to humans.

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It was not a hard leap for then for them to escape the hunter "guns of Autumn" by taking up "residence" in urban parks, golf courses or sports fields where hunting is generally not permitted. These geese (unlike their wild counterparts) had little if any natural fear of humans.

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Of course, some 50 odd years later, these same resident geese are now considered "nuisance" in many urban parks and states across the country and are targeted by federal, state and local agencies for "culls" and nearly constant harassment and egg destruction.

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Unlike the thousands of geese however, who were initially released in order to "restore" population (and therefore not immediately hunted), the pheasants are not being released for "restoration" purposes, but rather as immediate hunting targets.

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There is no time for the pheasants to figure anything out or escape to urban parks or golf courses.

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They are simply targets in a canned hunt program.

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That the canned hunt "program" is partially funded by our tax dollars ("All release sites for pheasants provided by state funded programs are opened to hunting.") merely adds public insult to injury.

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The "Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program" is only part of a wider initiative by current Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo to further promote hunting and fishing in the state.  From the press release:

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"Governor Cuomo's NY Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative is an effort to improve recreational activities for in-state and out-of-state sportsmen and sportswomen and to boost tourism opportunities throughout the state. This initiative includes the streamlining of hunting and fishing licensing and reducing license fees, improved access for fishing at various sites across the state, and increasing hunting opportunities in various regions." 

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Funny, that in the promotional commercials on TV, they don't show 12-year-old kids blowing bullet holes through human imprinted pheasants.

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The number to leave messages for our Governor is (518) 474-8390.

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Please let Governor Cuomo know what you think of "The Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program" and other canned hunting activities likely disguised by the lofty language of "New York Open for Hunting and Fishing."  

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No semi-tame animals needs targets on their heads, paid for with our tax dollars. There is little chance for these pheasants to make any kind of escape as is possible in actual, so-called, "sport hunting."

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This is simply New York's version of the Pennsylvania Pigeon Shoots -- though with far less publicity and protest.  -- PCA

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