You’ve been invited to a dinner party, and all your friends and neighbours are attending. The host is preparing a wonderful feast—your favourite meal, in fact. The table is set and everyone sits down, eagerly awaiting the meal. You’re famished and can smell the exquisite aroma wafting from the kitchen. Finally, the host emerges with the serving dish. Before they can even set it on the table, you leap up and, with no regard for others, start dishing your plate.

Where Are Your Manners?

Shouldn’t you wait until all the serving dishes have been set out for all the guests? Perhaps even wait for the host to sit down and announce, “Dinner is served. Please help yourself. Enjoy.”?

We are seeing this type of behaviour at pheasant release sites—even instances of cyber-bullying—across the province. It's not everyone, but a few guests have forgotten how to conduct themselves appropriately in social settings. More concerning, however, is the unethical behaviour being displayed—raising serious questions about moral and legal conduct.

History of Pheasant Releases

The first ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were released in southern Alberta in 1908 by a Fish & Game club.

By the 1930s, pheasants had become well established in southern Alberta and numbers were high enough to allow for the first hunting season in the fall of 1939. As the pheasant population grew, so did the popularity of hunting them. In an attempt to reduce pressure on naturalized birds and increase hunting opportunities, the Government of Alberta (GoA) established the Provincial Pheasant Release project in 1945. Over time, the project has been managed by several different hardworking and dedicated organizations. In 2014, upon the request of the GoA, Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) took over the responsibility.

“While the primary goal of pheasant releases is to provide increased upland game bird hunting opportunities, the secondary impact is an increased interest in upland game bird habitat,” says Todd Zimmerling, ACA’s President and CEO. “Through raising the profile of an iconic species like ring-necked pheasants, we have seen increased interest from both hunters and landowners, towards determining what can be done with respect to habitat enhancement in the province. And while the interest is directed towards pheasants, the habitat work has positive knock-on effects for a range of other species.”

Ethical Hunting

ACA, along with our contractors, numerous volunteers, and private landowners, released over 25,000 pheasants at 41 different locations in 2024—providing enhanced hunting opportunities to approximately 10,000 resident hunters. Based on feedback, 99.9 percent of these hunters understand the opportunities they have been given. These people understand that hunting on a pheasant release site is a privilege, not a right, and they treat it as such.

Pheasant hunting is a challenging and exciting experience. The ring-necked pheasant is one of North America's most popular game birds. They are fast and elusive, making them challenging for hunters to harvest. Additionally, they are one of the most beautiful game birds you will come across, and a spectacular sight flushing from cover.

Most game bird hunters know, it’s not about the harvest; it is about engaging in an outdoor adventure—whether alone, with your bird dog, friends, or family. It’s about connecting with nature, preserving traditions, and living memorable experiences. If your walk in the outdoors happens to result in you bringing home a tasty meal, all the better.

Without the pheasant release project, many upland game bird hunters would have limited opportunities to have these experiences, which most hunters understand and treat the opportunity with the respect it deserves.

Ethical hunters have a profound respect for wildlife, the environment, and the principles of a fair chase. They follow legal requirements and ensure sustainability for future generations. They strive to minimize suffering by making clean, accurate shots—harvesting only what is permitted, and only during open season. In addition, ethical hunters consider other hunters in the area: Will my direction of travel mess up someone else’s hunt? Is my shooting direction safe? Should I clean my birds and leave entrails in the parking lot for the next hunter’s dog to get into?

Good manners are part of ethical hunting!

Unrealistic Expectations

Unfortunately, there are people out there (the 0.1 percent) that appear to have unrealistic expectations of pheasant release sites.

“I waited all day, and the release truck never showed up;” “I harvested my limit of pheasants, but they didn’t have long tails;” “the birds don’t fly enough, they do too much running;” “the brush is too thick to hunt;” “there isn’t enough dense habitat to hold the birds;” and “I have a world champion dog, and if there was a bird on site he would have found it.”

These are all examples of conversations that ACA staff have had with people who seem to have forgotten the purpose of the pheasant release sites. These sites are there to provide an opportunity to hunt pheasants, not a guarantee to take home the number of birds you want, of the size you want, in the timeframe you want.

We strive to make it a memorable hunting experience, but “hunting” does not equal “harvesting.” Nobody makes a phone call to complain that they didn’t harvest the bull elk they wanted. Nor does anybody blame others when the snow geese don’t return to the field you were expecting them in—that’s hunting!

If you arrive at a pheasant release site feeling you are owed two birds, and willing to do whatever it takes to get them, you have unrealistic expectations. If you are only hunting to harvest, you are missing out on the more profound benefits of a true hunting experience.

Thank you to all the hunters who continue to show good manners, understand and practice ethical hunting, and take the time to build lasting memories, regardless of the harvest they take home. We look forward to seeing you in the field. You are welcome at our table any time.

For more information about the Provincial Pheasant Release project and its sites, visit www.ab-conservation.com/pheasant-release