Montana Wants to Release 50,000 ‘Pen Pheasants’ per Year. Most of Them Quickly Die.
The plan would raise releases from 9,853 last year to 50,000 birds a year, while critics say most pheasants die quickly.
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks proposed expanding its 'Roosters for Recruitment' program to release 50,000 pen-raised pheasants annually, with the Fish and Wildlife Commission voting on August 19, 2026.
- On Monday, three Democratic legislators—Rep. Josh Seckinger, Rep. Tom France, and Sen. Pat Flowers—sent a letter to FWP Director Christy Clark outlining 'significant concerns' that the program misuses license revenue to backfill the Department of Corrections budget.
- Biological risks remain central to the debate, as pen-raised birds carry pathogens threatening wild populations. Pheasants Forever reports about 40% of released birds die within one week, and less than 10% survive the winter.
- Since 2021, the state has spent about $2.5 million on the program, which originated when officials sought to fill a 'Darigold gap' after the company terminated its 30-year contract with the prison-work program.
- Officials defend the initiative as providing 'valuable soft skills' to inmates at net-zero cost. The August 19 commission meeting will determine if FWP gains authority to release birds on private and federal lands, expanding scope to around 14 million acres.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Montana Standard
Critics of FWP's pen-raised pheasants program contend money could be better spent
The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks proposal next month to enlarge program that raises pheasants in pens and releases them for young hunters.
Tame pheasants, bad biology
In 2021, the Montana State Legislature created fund-ing for the "Youth Pheasant Release Program," authorizing the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to spend $1 million annually "for the purchase of pheasants to be released on state lands." With the…
Daily Montanan
Missoula CurrentMontana wants to release 50,000 ‘pen pheasants’ per year
A controversial program that sees farm-raised pheasants released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for youth to hunt could expand by as much as 40,000 birds annually if a proposal by the agency is approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission next month. The birds rarely live long, a draft environmental assessment for the project […]
ABC FOX Montana
Montana wants to release 50,000 ‘pen pheasants’ per year. Most of them quickly die.
A controversial program that sees farm-raised pheasants released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for youth to hunt could expand by as much as 40,000 birds annually if a proposal by the agency is approved by the Fish and Wildlife…
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