PRINTER'S NO. 2266
No. 244 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY KASUNIC, HELFRICK, STOUT, BELAN, MADIGAN,
STAPLETON, KUKOVICH AND COSTA, NOVEMBER 9, 1998
REFERRED TO GAME AND FISHERIES, NOVEMBER 9, 1998
A RESOLUTION
1 Relating to the Pennsylvania Game Commission program for wild
2 birds.
3 WHEREAS, In the last 20 years, Pennsylvania has experienced a
4 steady decrease in wild pheasant populations available for
5 harvest by Pennsylvania sportsmen and sportswomen; and
6 WHEREAS, This decrease is due in part to a dramatic reduction
7 in habitat available to wild pheasants resulting from the
8 encroachment of development into rural areas and improved
9 farming techniques; and
10 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission operates several
11 game farms on which pheasants are raised so that they may be
12 released into the wild and available for harvest, and the
13 estimated cost of raising a bird at a game farm is approximately
14 $13 to $15 per pheasant; and
15 WHEREAS, Prior to utilizing its own game farm, the
16 Pennsylvania Game Commission engaged in an aggressive pheasant
17 stocking program in cooperation with sporting organizations,
1 farmers and youth organizations which, if reinstituted, may be
2 more cost effective than the present system of farms operated by
3 the commission; and
4 WHEREAS, Because these pheasants experience human contact
5 while being raised to a self-sustaining stage of development,
6 they are unable to develop the necessary instincts which protect
7 them from predation and allow them to successfully propagate;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission operates a very
10 successful program of trapping and transferring wild turkeys to
11 areas in this Commonwealth which are capable of sustaining wild
12 turkey populations; and
13 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission program provides
14 for the propagation of wild birds which possess the necessary
15 protective instincts resulting in natural regeneration and
16 restocking; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Pennsylvania Game
18 Commission to continue to study and provide the resources
19 necessary to produce adequate cover and habitat for pheasant
20 populations so that they are capable of propagating naturally
21 and developing the necessary wild instincts which make them less
22 vulnerable to predation; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That the Pennsylvania Game Commission institute an
24 aggressive trap and transfer program for wild pheasants similar
25 to that utilized for wild turkeys to introduce wild pheasants
26 with natural defensive instincts to areas that require pheasant
27 populations for harvesting; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That during the transition from the stocking of
29 farm-raised pheasants and the implementation of a trap and
30 transfer program, the Pennsylvania Game Commission study and
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1 determine whether the reduction of bag limits, restriction on
2 areas in which pheasants may be harvested or the temporary
3 suspension of pheasant hunting for one or more license years
4 will be the most effective method to reestablish and increase
5 wild pheasant populations.
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