Phasianus colchicus does not always get the best of press.
The common pheasant (for it is he, or she, of whom I speak) is thought by some purists to be a bit too easy game.
They fly low, slow and lack the brainpower to be regarded as serious quarry, argue some.
Up to a point, perhaps. Certainly the pheasant is not native to British shores. It was introduced purely to provide a entertainment for sporting gentlemen as long ago as the 11th century.
It provided such a popular quarry, though, that it had been wiped out in these islands by around 1700.
Its return came around 1830 and it was a favourite of Victorian estate managers. When danger rears its ugly head the pheasant’s first reaction is often to run – it’s far from being the best of fliers – so it provided easy pickings for 19th-century shooting parties, who would line up to gun down the scampering birds.
Not only that, though. It provided a huge temptation for every predatory beast in the British countryside. In a bid to protect their pheasants, gamekeepers blasted any interloper that looked like a threat – foxes, pine martens, polecats, red kites, peregrine falcons. To keep the shoots well stocked, the native fauna took a pasting.
Today in the UK around 30 million pheasants are released each year on shooting estates, and the tables have been turned by the predators.
The poor old pheasants are faced with a host of hazards even before the first beater of the season hoves into view.
Recent research from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust suggests as many as 25 per cent of released pheasants never even see the start of the shooting season – having rapidly fallen victim to the likes of foxes and stoats.
In recent months this level of carnage has sparked considerable debate, with the UK government’s environmental department (Defra) putting forward a plan to allow buzzard nests to be destroyed and the birds of prey to be taken into captivity to help preserve pheasant populations.
The buzzard is a protected species and many conservationists reacted with shock at the proposal.
But Tim Russell, director of conservation at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) – the UK’s largest shooting organisation, believes the pheasant population might benefit from a little additional assistance.
‘In recent years there has been growing concern among some keepers that buzzards are causing serious damage around pheasant release pens. BASC believes that good scientific research is essential when making decisions about wildlife management and so we welcome this research.
‘By commissioning it Defra is showing its willingness to investigate how non-lethal methods might be used to solve serious problems with buzzards at the local level.’
One reason the government is getting involved is because pheasant shoots play a significant role in the rural economy. BASC estimates shooting supports 70,000 full-time jobs and boosts the UK economy by £1.6 billion per year.
A day’s pheasant shooting can cost around £1,000 per gun, and a multi-gun shoot can account for several hundred pheasants in a day. Sad to relate, many of those birds aren’t actually eaten – the supply far exceeds the demand.
It’s a shame because there is much more we could be doing with our vanquished quarry than the countryside winter staple of pheasant pie. For all their laboured flight and notwithstanding the fact they are mostly fed and pampered prior to facing the guns, pheasants produce excellent-flavoured, lean meat that can be roasted, curried, casseroled, used in a terrine, braised in cider – the list goes on and on.
And anyone who wants to dismiss the pheasant as an invasive interloper that fails to provide the sport offered by its cousin the grouse, should perhaps also bear in mind the vivid colours they bring to the countryside.
With their red and green heads and gilded backs they add to the palate of the winter fields and woods – something else which must always stand in their favour – surely negating, at least in part, the criticism that comes their way.
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