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Don't Feed the Pheasants

blake

Life Member
NEWS!

From the Iowa DNR:

DNR and State Veterinarian Recommend Against Feeding Pheasants
Posted: January 8, 2010

DES MOINES - As the sight of pheasants scurrying across barren, snow-covered ground becomes more common, so does the temptation for Iowans to want to feed them.

But the word of advice from Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologists and the state veterinarian is to resist the temptation.
While providing food to pheasants struggling to survive some of the harshest winter conditions in recent memory would appear to be in the best interests of the birds, DNR Wildlife Bureau Chief Dale Garner said the practice can actually have counterproductive results.

"If there is not adequate habitat, it actually makes pheasants much more susceptible to predation by congregating birds in an area where there is not enough cover," said Garner.

From an animal health standpoint, congregating wild birds in a small area can increase the potential for the spread of disease, said State Veterinarian David Schmitt of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

"Anytime a wildlife species becomes concentrated by artificial feeding, it increases the risk of disease transmission, such as avian influenza, to other wild animals, and potentially livestock," said Schmitt. "Animal agriculture is very important to our state's economy and we need to protect livestock from the spread of disease.

Schmitt said putting out food for pheasants can also concentrate other species such as deer into the areas where feed is provided.

It is precisely the concerns over concentrating wildlife such as deer that is prompting the Iowa DNR to propose some regulations for wildlife feeding in the upcoming session of the Legislature.

"There have been instances in other states of Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer being spread by artificial feeding when infected deer come into contact with saliva and feces in a feeding area that has been concentrated with larger numbers of animals," said Garner.

Iowa has so far avoided any documented cases of TB or CWD in its deer herd and eliminating artificial feeding areas is an additional step toward preventing an outbreak, said Garner.

Garner said the best advice for helping winter-time pheasants and other wildlife species is to start thinking of alternatives much sooner in the growing season so that adequate food sources and habitat are available when the animals need it the most.

Feeding pheasants is not a one- or two-time proposition. Garner said the birds would have to be fed continuously throughout the rest of the winter to have any positive impact on survival rates, adding that such a practice would also concentrate pheasants in a relatively small area for a longer period of time making them even more susceptible to predation and the spread of disease.
 
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