Pennsylvania Game News - August 2021 - 39

and Loyalsock farms, still were raising
and releasing more than 200,000 pheasants
annually.
FARMS & THE FUTURE
As of 2018, after a trial purchase in
2017, day-old pheasant chicks, 21,000
at a time, are procured, then raised at the
Southwest and Loyalsock farms from
mid-April to mid-July. Pheasants no
longer are kept year-round to produce
their own chicks. The breeder flocks and
hatchery operations were eliminated on
the farms, which reduced costs and raised
efficiency.
And it is an extremely efficient operation.
In 2020, 221,231 pheasants were
released during fall and winter, and
hunted by 49,613 adult and 13,220 junior
pheasant permit holders, as well as certain
senior hunters who are exempted from
needing a permit. Birds are released right
before opening day of the youth, regular
and late pheasant hunting seasons, as well
as within the season, to provide hunting
recreation.
The recreational benefits of the pheasant
propagation program continue to be
highly valued by hunters, as evidenced
by 2020 sales of adult pheasant hunting
permits being 13 percent higher than sales
in 2017, when the permit was initiated.
Under the current two-farm business
model, the Game Commission is stocking
the same number of pheasants as under
the previous four-farm model, but at a
per-bird cost of less than $14 compared to
about $21 previously. Moreover, releases
now consist of 75 percent males compared
to 50 percent previously, further increasing
hunter satisfaction.
The Game Commission has quite the
history of game farm operations, and with
the two farms presently in operation, the
agency still can claim to have the largest
pheasant propagation program of any state
wildlife agency in the nation.
Today's program not only allows us to
relive the wonderful memories of pheasant
hunting during its heyday, but also
create new memories. The junior pheasant
hunting opportunities help recruit and
retain hunters.
Although pen-reared pheasants do
not build sustainable wild populations,
they do provide a quality hunting experience
that's the next best thing for those
who remember the glory days of hunting
wild pheasants, said Game Commission
Wildlife Operations Division Chief Ian
Gregg, who heads the agency's pheasant
program.
" Without unforeseen landscape-level
changes in agricultural practices, the
high densities of wild pheasants many
Pennsylvanians fondly remember from
decades ago will remain only a memory, "
Gregg said. " But excellent pheasant hunting
opportunities continue to be a reality
throughout the Commonwealth thanks
to stocked birds produced by the Game
Commission's two pheasant farms.
" And with increasing trends in pheasant
permit sales, it appears that from
senior citizens who cut their pheasant
hunting teeth on wild birds 50 years ago,
to mentored youth carrying a shotgun
afield for the first time, Pennsylvania hunters
of all ages are recognizing the 2020s
as a great time to make memories of exciting
pheasant hunts enjoyed with family,
friends, and good dogs, " Gregg said.
AUGUST 2021
39
Pennsylvania Game News - August 2021

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