Each fall, some state wildlife agencies dump hundreds of thousands of non-native pheasants into the landscape for shooters. The pheasants are raised in barns and have no survival skills. If not shot, predators, exposure to the elements, or starvation kills the birds.
Pheasant stocking is a costly and cruel practice with no place in sound wildlife management.
Stocked birds grow up in a series of boxes and pens. Keepers sometimes cut off their beaks or put plastic "blinders" through their nose holes to prevent the crowded, stressed pheasants from pecking each other.
At some release sites, shooters wait in parking lots for trucks bringing crates of birds, or line up just before stocking to take the first shot.
Releasing pheasants from a truck at an announced date and time violates the fair chase principle that animals must have a reasonable chance to escape.
News & Events
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November 16, 2009
NY Pheasant Stocking
This week, The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society of New York, New York League of Humane Voters and New York State Humane Association submitted comments to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation opposing the continuation of pheasant stocking.
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December 9, 2008
Pheasant Stocking Programs Get a Lump of Coal
Some 260,000 birds won't be mistreated to gratify pheasant hunters this year, thanks in part of an ailing economy.
Our Victories
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June 29, 2009
Settlement Restores Endangered Species Act Protections To Great Lakes Wolves
A coalition of wolf advocates led by The HSUS has reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region.
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June 22, 2009
Federal Court Blocks Captive Hunting of Endangered Species
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule allowing captive hunting of endangered antelopes.
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June 4, 2009
Conn. Lawmakers Pass Bill to Ban Chimpanzees as Pets and Prevent Internet Hunting
After a tragic incident involving a pet chimpazee, Connecticut lawmakers vote to prohibit residents from keeping great apes as pets.
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May 28, 2009
Minn. Legislature Adjourns With Victories for Animals
The HSUS thanks Minnesota lawmakers for their work to protect animals in the 2009 legislative session.