The Parish Magazine - Parish of Greater Whitbourne

Page 6Dear Editor—in reply to ColinRichmond (see January Issue).It is a joy to see a handsomecock pheasant strutting roundmy garden. Somehow, he hassurvived the 2010/11 shoots,foxes, hunger and cold. Pheasantsonly exist because peopleare prepared to pay largesums of money to shoot them.This may be an expensive wayto produce a little meat, butthey lead a better life than theaverage chicken and make aThe Parish MagazinePheasant shooting—a replytasty casserole (Thank youMeg). Pheasant shooting is notmy idea of fun, but, at leastthey are farmed birds, not thesmall songbirds and migrantsshot on the Continent. MyrtleKneenTen pheasant facts and a joke1) The Pheasant belongs to theGalliformes taxanomic orderwhich also includes partridges,quail, grouse and turkeys.2) The bird is native to India,South-eastern Asia and China.3) Its name can be traced toGreek and Roman antiquityand the discovery by the Argonautsof many pheasants onthe River Phasis (near Georgia).4) The bird was introducedinto the UK during the Romanempire. It had become naturalisedby the 10th centurybut was locally extinct by the17th century. Pheasants wererediscovered as a game bird inthe early 19th century fromwhich time they have beenbred extensively to be huntedand shot for sport.5) Common Pheasants are notgreat flyers, preferring to run.They can, however, fly forshort distances. ‗Cruising‘speeds are 27 to 38 mph; ‗top‘speeds are up to 60 mph.6) They are not long-livedbirds; natural lifespans areonly 1-3 years.7) Common pheasants feed onthe ground, but roost in shelteredtrees at night.8) Male pheasants are polygynousand have a harem of severalfemales.9) According to the British Associationof Conservation andShooting ―In Britain we arerightly proud of our shootingsports. Game managementand conservation shape andenhance our landscape. Wildlifethrives where land is managedfor shooting. Over a millionpeople are involved inshooting; many more enjoythe end product as consumersof pheasants, partridges andother game. Moreover, shootingmakes a substantial contributionto the rural economyoften at times and in placeswhere other income is scarce.‖10) According to AnimalAid―.....pheasants and partridgesare mass-produced to serve asfeathered targets for wealthy‗guns‘. From birth, they areconfined in cages, sheds andpens, in which disease anddeath are a daily feature.Many birds, frightened andstressed, are fitted with devicesthat restrict their visionand prevent them from peckingtheir cage-mates.About half the released birdsdie before they can be gunneddown. They perish from exposure,starvation, disease orpredation, or under thewheels of motor vehicles.Only a fraction of the shotbirds are eaten. Killing animalsfor fun has no place in acivilised society.‖.On a lighter note.......A pheasant was standing in afield chatting to a bull. "Iwould love to be able to get tothe top of that tree overthere," sighed the pheasant,"but I haven't got the energy.""Well, why don't you nibble onsome of my droppings?" thebull asked. "They're packedwith nutrients."The pheasant pecked at alump of dung and found thatit actually gave him enoughstrength to reach the firstbranch of the tree. The nextday, after eating some moredung, he reached the secondbranch, and so on.Finally, after a fortnight, therehe was proudly perched at thetop of the tree, whereupon hewas spotted by a farmer whodashed into the farmhouse,emerged with a shotgun andblew the pheasant into littlebitty pieces.Moral of the Story: Bull****might get you to the top, butit won't keep you there.Mark Powell