End Barbaric Pheasant Breeding Program in Wisconsin!
End Barbaric Pheasant Breeding Program in Wisconsin!
Why this petition matters
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has made a 1.7 million dollar investment in a state hatching factory which artificially breeds an estimated 75,000 pheasant chicks per year for release in canned hunting farms across the state. Knowing nothing but captivity, these birds are released after about 20 weeks into hunting grounds with no survival skills or awareness of the dangers posed by fast moving cars and predators. In fact, they are so tame, they often do not move when hunters and their dogs quickly approach them. Video footage commonly shows hunters having to kick the birds to force them into flight or grab them and throw them up in the air and then shoot them at about a 10- to 20-foot range. Birds are seen flapping their wings repeatedly on the ground as trained dogs run over to the injured and dying birds to fetch them. The DNR counters criticism by claiming that this barbaric state-funded and promoted bloodsport is justified in the name of "conservation" as it raises funds for wildlife and habitat restoration.
It's time to send the DNR a strong message that it is morally bankrupt and ludicrous to place the fate of valuable wildlife and ecosystems at the mercy of a lucrative canned hunting enterprise which mass produces non native pheasants known to displace the native species the state claims to be protecting.
If you are a Wisconsinite, your voice is especially important. Tell the DNR and your elected officials you demand that tax dollars not be spent on pheasant breeding and canned hunting!