| INTRODUCTION | DISCUSSION |
| SUMMARY | REFERENCES |
HUNTING AND CONSERVATION ISSUES/GAMEBIRD SHOOTING PRESERVES
James E. Miller
National Program Leader, Fish and Wildlife
USDA/CSREES/NRE; Mail Stop 2210
901 D Street, SW, Room 829 Aerospace Center
Washington, DC 20250-2210
"Placing Hunting in Perspective," a publication from the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI 1992), defines hunting as:
. . .the pursuit of anything, with the intent to possess it. For example, the essence of bargain shopping, stamp collecting, mushroom harvesting, hunting, fishing and trapping is similar; only the specific objectives and tools used are different. Human use of products of the natural environment is ecologically and socially acceptable (and legal) in all 50 states, provided those uses do not harm the environment's ability to renew or sustain the resource, and are conducted legally, safely and responsibly.
The Wildlife Society, founded in 1937, is a professional, nonprofit organization with more than 9,000 professional members. It is dedicated to the wise management and conservation of the wildlife resources of the world. In its conservation policies, The Wildlife Society (TWS 1992) states that it "supports and promotes the philosophy of humans responsibly using wildlife for food, clothing, shelter, hunting, fishing, trapping, recreation and as an indicator of environmental quality. These uses contribute to the economic, environmental and spiritual well-being of society." The Society further states that it "supports and promotes the position that humans are responsible for promulgating and enforcing laws and developing management programs essential to sustaining the long-term welfare of wildlife."
For some species, regulated hunting serves as a means of helping maintain wildlife populations in balance with available habitats. According to recent estimates (WMI 1992), there are about 18.5 million recreational hunters in the United States.
The concept of gamebird shooting preserves, where game to be hunted is reared in confinement and released for recreational hunting, originated in Europe and Great Britain and spread to this country after 1900. Interest in shooting preserves has grown steadily in recent years, largely because of increased difficulty of public access to private lands for hunting; continued demand for recreational hunting and shooting opportunities; changing demographics, with resulting time constraints on participants; and the continued need for other opportunities to train and work hunting dogs. Some facilities also offer a place to participate in other recreational shooting sports, such as skeet, trap, or sporting clays. Another factor causing increased interest in shooting preserves is that wild populations of certain gamebirds, and access for the privilege of hunting them, have declined significantly in many areas because of changes in land use and ownership. Properly managed shooting preserves can provide recreational hunting and shooting opportunities to many who might otherwise lose interest. They also encourage owner/operators to manage habitats to the benefit of gamebirds and other wildlife species.
Recreational hunting on shooting preserves is attractive to many people for a variety of reasons. With the progressive loss of wildlife habitat and public access, shooting preserves provide an acceptable alternative for many recreationists who desire to hunt or shoot recreationally, but lack available access or time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Inventory (USDA 1990) says that the United States is losing 4,000 to 5,500 acres of agricultural lands each day. Increasing urban expansion and development is also destroying available habitats for many wildlife species. Shooting preserves help to reduce hunting pressure on some upland gamebird species on which changing land uses and habitat losses are having the greatest impacts.
Regulated hunting has been proven to have little or no detrimental effect on wild gamebird populations when habitat of sufficient quantity and quality is available. Many studies have shown that some renewable wildlife resources, such as certain upland gamebirds, may have an annual turnover of 70 to 80 percent, whether they are hunted or not. These studies indicate that even when some gamebirds are harvested from gamebird populations by hunters each year, they can sustain enough reproductive capability to replace the losses if enough good-quality habitat is available. Wildlife managers use a variety of management practices to ensure that the annual harvest does not exceed a population's ability to sustain itself. Gamebird shooting preserves afford managers an opportunity to provide released birds to increase hunting opportunity without potentially overharvesting wild bird populations.
Well-managed shooting perserves for upland game birds can provide economic benefits for owners, operators, and the community. The 1985 Farm Bill's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) allowed landowners to sign up large acreages of farmland to be planted in grass or trees under various set-aside, conservation, commodity, or other Federal programs. In some areas, particularly the Great Plains region, upland gamebird populations have increased significantly. This increase is stimulating interest by hunters and the increased hunter expenditures are contributing economically to rural communities. Some of this increased interest in upland gamebird hunting is likely to stimulate more interest in shooting preserve opportunities in the future.
As hunting preserves have increased, so have questions regarding the potential effects that release of pen-reared birds could have on diseases, genetics, and other environmental concerns. Still others question the value issue of hunting released species for recreation and food.
Data reviewed recently indicate that few adverse impacts have been documented when pen-reared gamebirds such as quail and pheasants have been responsibly released into habitats where native wild quail and wild pheasants live. In a recent workshop, "The Effects of Released, Pen-Raised Bobwhites on Wild Bird Populations" (Landers 1991), researchers reported preliminary findings of interaction between pen-raised/released and wild bobwhite quail. Considerable scientific information is available on wild gamebird populations and their management and on pen-reared populations and management, but little is available on the impact of one on the other. However, there is substantial evidence that pen-reared/released turkeys significantly increase disease and parasite transmission and genetic pollution, resulting in poor survival and population sustainability. Today, however, turkeys are rarely produced for shooting preserves. Successful reintroduction of wild turkeys and management of restored wild bird populations have resulted in huntable populations in 49 of the 50 States. Release of pen-reared turkeys into the wild is not encouraged, and in fact many States have passed regulations to prevent such releases.
Wildlife diseases and parasites are difficult to monitor in wild populations. However, there is little substantiated evidence that outbreaks have been caused by pen-reared gamebirds such as quail or pheasants. Most ground-dwelling birds that become affected by disease are likely to become a victim of predation. In addition, scavengers are abundant in most gamebird habitats, and birds that succumb to disease are usually consumed either before or shortly after death occurs.
The bobwhite quail is the upland gamebird most commonly released on shooting preserves, particularly in the southeastern and midwestern regions of the United States. Clearly, the steady decline of wild bobwhite quail populations across the Southeastern United States is a widespread concern among wildlife researchers, State fish and wildlife agencies, other natural resource professionals, landowners, and hunters. Considerable research continues to be directed at this decline; however, it seems obvious that the decline is unlikely to have been caused by any single factor, but has resulted from a combination of causes.
Studies have identified several factors causing the decline of wild bobwhite quail populations: (1) changing land use, including agricultural practices, (2) pesticides, (3) climatic changes, and (4) change in predator population status. Whether release of pen-reared bobwhites is a contributing factor in this decline is not yet known.
The wild bobwhite population decline appears to be widespread. Declines have been observed where no pen-reared birds have been released, as well as in areas where releases have been made for years. While disease may have played a role in the decline of wild bobwhite quail populations, no disease outbreak has been documented that has been traced back to that of pen-reared birds. For example, quail pox virus is endemic in wild bobwhite quail populations in the Southeastern United States. Several cases of positive quail pox virus isolation have been reported from wild bobwhites on areas where historically no pen-reared birds have been released. This virus has been isolated from both wild populations and pen-reared quail.
These conclusions do not mean that the gamebird industry is, or can afford to be, lax about disease issues. The potential transfer of disease should always be a major concern of gamebird breeders and shooting preserve managers or other individuals who plan to release pen-reared birds.
There is no excuse for ever releasing an unhealthy bird. It is in the best interest of the gamebird industry to produce the healthiest birds possible. It is also in the best interest of shooting preserve owners or managers to neither buy nor release sick or diseased birds. Substandard gamebirds will not perform satisfactorily and will create dissatisfied customers. In addition, most gamebird breeders and shooting preserve owners and managers recognize these concerns and want to prevent practices that might pose a threat to native wildlife species or to the ecosystem. As noted in "Shooting Preserves in South Carolina" (Harrigah, Yarrow, and Baker 1990), "A shooting preserve without quality birds will not be in business very long." The chapter on gamebird diseases in "Hunting Preserves for Sport and Profit," (Schwartz and Vezey 1987) emphasize prevention of disease and provides a list of guidelines. The authors, both of whom are doctors of veterinary medicine, provide three pertinent conclusions:
In a workshop, "The Effects of Released Pen-Reared Bobwhites on Wild Bird Populations," (Landers 1991) participants defined the following questions as high-priority research topics:
The answers to these questions may be a few years away. Some may never be answered to everyone's satisfaction. However, they do indicate the continuing interest by wildlife scientists, veterinarians, game bird breeders, hunters, and shooting preserve owners and managers to provide sustainable wild populations of gamebirds for future recreational use and enjoyment.
Hunting in the United States is permitted on many public lands by State and/or Federal natural resource management agencies. However, more than two-thirds of the lands within the contiguous United States are privately owned and managed. There is a great disparity of ownership as well, with about 90 percent of all public lands located in the West, but with the great majority of the human population living in the East. It is reasonable to conclude that demand for hunting access to private lands is likely to increase and that some of the demand will be met by shooting preserves. Many shooting preserves offer gamebird hunting along with other recreational opportunities, such as dog training, skeet shooting, trap, sporting clays, and other shooting sport activities. Location, management, marketing, and customer satisfaction are keys to the successful operation of shooting preserves. It is likely that gamebird shooting preserves will continue to meet clientele needs for recreational activities.
Hunting provides the backbone of support for fish and wildlife agencies across the Nation, and it will continue to play a significant role in perpetuating and funding responsible wildlife management. Well-funded programs, including regulated hunting, will result in wise stewardship of wildlife resources, continue to provide recreation for all wildlife users, and contribute positively toward the future sustainability of our wildlife heritage.
1. Harrigah, D., G. Yarrow, and D. Baker. 1990. Shooting preserves in South Carolina. Clemson University, Aquaculture, Fisheries and Wildlife. Cooperative, Clemson, South Carolina. 18pp.
2. Landers, J.L. 1991. The effects of leased pen-raised bobwhites on wild bird populations. In Workshop Proceedings, ed. Landers, J.L., L.P. Simoneaux, and C. Sisson, pp.27-30. Tall Timbers, Inc. and The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. Tallahassee, FL, and Athens, GA.
3. Schwartz, L.D. and S.A. Vezey. 1987. Gamebird disease. In Kozicky, E. L. Hunting preserves for sport or profit, pp. 181-187. Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Kingsville, TX.
4. The Wildlife Society. 1992. Conservation policies of the Wildlife Society. A stand on issues important to wildlife conservation, pp. 6-7. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD.
5. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1987. Basic statistics, 1982. Natural Resource Inventory. SB 756. Washington, DC.: GPO.
6. Wildlife Management Institute. 1992. Placing hunting in perspective -- fiction versus fact. Wildlife Management Institute. Washington, DC. 28 pp.
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Last Modified: October 19, 2004