For My Pheasant Hunting Comrads

[waterfowler_gal]

Crazy interesting story....

Pheasant holding pen collapses during storm 12/17/05

CROW LAKE, S.D. (AP) -- A holding pen owned by Gisi Pheasant Farms was a victim of South Dakota's late fall ice storm and blizzard, collapsing and allowing many of its 3,000 pheasants to escape.

The resulting traffic hazard caused by so many pheasants in a small area prompted two state Game, Fish and Parks Department officers to supervise a one-day hunt on Sunday to help reduce pheasant numbers and keep them away from oncoming traffic.

The hunt, north of White Lake and west of Wessington Springs, was supervised by conservation officers Micheal Kavanaugh of Aurora and Jerauld counties and Andy Petersen of Davison and Hanson counties.

"I've been around over 29 years. I don't remember anything like that happening," said Ron Schauer, a Sioux Falls regional wildlife manager.

Gisi Pheasant Farms used the huge pen to more easily distribute pheasants in the White Lake area.

Sheila Mulder, a manager for Gisi, said replacing the 200-foot-wide, half-mile-long netting for the pen will cost about $38,000 -- a cost that's on top of what Gisi lost in pheasants.

Mulder said each pheasant is worth $11.50 and that many of them now are in freezers.

Officials said about 16 volunteer hunters were allowed to shoot the pheasants and take them home for free. Authorities disregarded the state's three-pheasants daily limit for the special hunt.

The GF&P "issued transportation permits to allow those people to legally transport the pheasants. Otherwise, they would have only been able to transport three," Kavanaugh said.

Hunters bagged about 68 pheasants. Many pheasants had died in collisions with vehicles after the pen broke.

Many of the birds were wearing blinders.

Officials say most of the blinded pheasants were simply herded back toward the pens. Blinders help stop pheasants from pecking other birds inside the pens.

Once they were free, the pheasants' limited vision from blinders posed a danger to drivers.

"(The pen) is kind of on a crest of a hill. Having 300 to 400 birds on the road could be pretty hazardous," said Kavanaugh.

"This was a first for us, something happening like that," he said.

The ice storm "just snapped the poles that hold the nets up and destroyed the pen," Kavanaugh said. "It was one of the larger (pens) I know of around here."

YOWSA... I sure would of liked to helped them thin those numbers out!! 68/3,000 birds doesn't seem like much management control to me...

[need2hunt]

Re: For My Pheasant Hunting Comrads

I've hunted some fields in SD that had to have at least 3,000 birds in them. This place had to be right on a main highway or something for it to be that much of a "hazard" - I would have loved to go help them out... Hey buddy if you want to come and shoot some birds, looks like there will be about 20 guys total so we will have to limit you to 150 birds each or a total of 3,000 for the group

[Tominator]

Re: For My Pheasant Hunting Comrads

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I've hunted some fields in SD that had to have at least 3,000 birds in them.

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Yeah, but those are wild with no blinders on right Gary?

That would have been a fun shoot if you could get them to fly. Too many of those pen birds just look at you and run a little, or just sit there.