Pheasants population continues to be concern for province and agency

Pheasants population continues to be concern for province and agency

S. RYAN QUIGLEY

JOURNAL PIONEER

Pheasants Forever and the Province of Prince Edward Island are continuing an initiative to bring the wild Pheasant to Prince Edward Island.

They have previously tried with Pheasants that were farm raised, but have recently decided to start importing them from other Provinces, including two from New Brunswick this year.

The previous attempts at introducing Pheasants to the Island were unsuccessful, said Wade MacKinnon, senior conservation officer.

“Pheasants were never native here, there were introductions but the birds that they released were just farm yard birds. They were just raised like chickens in cages and let go.”

New Brunswick doesn’t have a large spread of Pheasants because of the environment in the province, he said.

“New Brunswick is primarily a forest province, pheasants prefer an agricultural habitat. So you’re not going to find them in the spruce words back in Miramichi because they wouldn’t survive there. They need open ground, open fields, because that’s the kind of habitat they prefer.”

Carl Hansen, P.E.I. Pheasants Forever chapter leader, said he understands why New Brunswick hunters are upset.

“I can understand where they’re coming from, they feel like we’re invading something they have, that they never had Pheasants Forever. The pheasants they have there now came from Nova Scotia. They’re not native to New Brunswick, as they are not native to Prince Edward Island.”

In the last five years they have released close to 225 pheasants onto P.E.I., said Hansen.

“Which is not a whole lot. We’re seeing signs of young birds every year. They are surviving and repopulating that’s for sure.”