Connecticut Needs to Make Improvements to Pheasant Season

Connecticut is a state without a natural pheasant population. Therefore, to allow pheasant hunting, the state stocks pheasants at several locations throughout the state.

I appreciate the pheasant program in Connecticut. Without it, we would not be able to hunt birds. However, there is a lot that could be improved with the way the program is run.

First, the DEP needs to get serious with stocking methods. Many times birds are stocked during the week or early on Friday. People that are available, like retired guys and guys that get out of work early on Friday, shoot all the birds Friday evening before the sun even rises on Saturday. By Saturday morning the workingman is often relegated to spending hours walking around a field with one or two birds that survived the previous night’s shooting. To solve this, especially on Friday, the state needs to stock after dark. I’ve been in the field when the stocking truck comes. If there are hunters in the area, the birds barely last the hour. Nighttime stocking is fairer to the hunters, and to the birds.

Second, there are far too many hunters for the amount of locations available. It’s not surprising that a hunter was hit by some stray birdshot while pheasant hunting at Robins Swamp earlier this year. On some Saturday mornings it’s difficult to even find a place to walk at some of the more popular pheasant hunting locations. For safety and for the quality of the pheasant hunting experience, the state needs to open up more locations.

Finally, the state needs to stock more birds. At some locations there are more hunters than birds. I’m not saying I want it to be easy, but I don’t want to waste my time either. I want to hunt bird, not fight with other hunters for one nervous bird.

Like many states, the state of Connecticut is in the midst of a serious budget crisis. Rumors swirled earlier this year that the pheasant stocking program was one of the programs considered for cutting from the bloated state budget. This is unwise and unnecessary. Pheasant hunters pay for special pheasant tags. The program is basically self-sustaining with the money collected from tag fees going to purchase bird for the following year. If the program is not solvent, the state needs to charge the correct amount for tags to make it solvent. Hunters understand the stocking program costs money, and they will be more than willing to pay a fair price. I’d rather pay more to have the program run right, than to pay less for a poorly run pheasant stocking program. In addition to the direct fees pheasant hunters pay to the state coffers, there is the significant indirect revenue brought in by pheasant hunters. Hunters spend money. They buy equipment. They eat at local restaurants. They pay sales tax. Eliminating the stocking program would dry up all the spending done by pheasant hunters. Enhancing the program would have the opposite effect, as well as make for a better experience for the hunters.