Most common question we get
at Aurora Pheasant Hunts is “Are the birds wild or released?”
Well let me start with this yes the birds are wild, but a lot of landowners and guides do a chick release in June to ensure that the numbers are there and that we are helping mother nature in the replenishing of the bird population.
Just remember this think of how many people from the state of South Dakota and from out side the state come here for pheasant hunting. Now consider how many days they hunt. So if you were to do the math that can be a lot of birds taken off the land in the course of a pheasant hunting season (I believe the average in s.d. is about 1-3 million birds). Now consider how many of them did not survive from either natural death, predators, none favorable weather.
Now let’s not forget the diminishing of natural cover or habitat that keeps getting smaller every year. So you factor those things in together and yes the landowners and guides need to release birds to assist mother nature in keeping our bird population going. After all that is how the pheasant got here in the first place now isn’t it.
So please, remember that we are giving back to mother nature to ensure that there is a future to pheasant hunting in s.d. and that many more people have the opportunity to come and enjoy pheasant hunting in s.d.
Aurora Pheasant Hunts 