Pheasants reared for hunting and the harm they are responsible for
In France, some 14 million pheasants are reared in captivity every year for release into the wild at the start of the hunting period for the benefit of hunters, basically to be shot.
Very soon, as I write this, we will see them wandering around in our French gardens and on our land.
They are not a native species, although they have been in France since Roman times when they were introduced from Asia. In normal circumstances, their numbers would be very low, resulting from a high level of predation, often by foxes. In fact, a major reason why foxes are victimised is due to their killing of game birds.
Now, a study has shown the harm they cause to our native species.
The release of farmed pheasants exterminates populations of threatened and protected reptiles, and, like every year, they will resume to satisfy an increasingly controversial hobby called hunting:
A scientific study has identified that areas where pheasants are released before the hunting season become biological deserts for endemic reptile species.
The conclusions of the study are as follows: "In view of these different results and in view of the significant impacts that lizard and snake populations suffer as a result of the presence of farmed pheasants, a ban on the release of pheasants into the wild would be appropriate, as is already the case in several European countries and regions such as the Netherlands and Flanders."
Chris
