Wild thing, we love you!

The sight of a wild pheasant rocketing overhead is extremely satisfying, but fundamental changes in land management have meant that most shoots have switched from ‘wild’ game to released pheasants.  However, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is convinced that it could be possible to add a dash of the ‘wilder’ element into some released shoots and is therefore initiating new research, which aims to do just this.

At the end of the season over one million released hens will try to breed, but most will not succeed.  The Trust’s new research aims to discover why the breeding success rate of released hens is just 10 per cent of their wild cousins.  The research will also investigate techniques that will encourage more released birds to breed successfully thereby increasing the ‘wilder’ element on our released shoots.

In order to do this the researchers need to revisit the factors that contribute to the poor survival rate of released hens and what we can do to improve it. Past research at the GWCT has highlighted the key elements required for wild breeding in pheasants - broadly these relate to habitat, food and predation.  What we have not done is put these things together on released based shoots. 
 
The research aims to understand the combined effect of the following factors:

• Building up food reserves in hens to provide the strength to both lay their eggs and sit on their nest for 25 days.
• Enabling released pheasant hens to lead their new born chicks to the high protein insects that they will need in the first six days of their lives.
• The relationship between nest and brood rearing cover and the vulnerability to predators.

Dr Rufus Sage, head of lowland gamebird research said, “To build an accurate picture of conditions affecting breeding success we need to radio track a large number of hens across a wide variety of habitats.  Our scientists will track these pheasants at a number of selected locations at least twice a week to document what happens to them throughout pre-nesting, egg-laying, incubation and brood rearing phases.” 

While the Trust’s previous studies have clearly shown how shoots can manage the countryside in a way that creates conditions that benefit other wildlife, these techniques have not proved effective enough to improve the fate and breeding success of released pheasants when the season is closed.  It is anticipated that this new research will lift the lid on this debate.  Rufus said, “If we can push to have a few more wild birds on our released shoots, then we will hopefully have a few more of everything else and this will strengthen the case that game management is a force for good in the countryside.”

The Trust has launched an appeal to help fund the released pheasant research.  Support from the shooting community will enable researchers to spend two weeks at each of the study sites capturing up to 100 pheasant hens and attaching miniature radio transmitters around their necks before returning them to the wild.  These specially made transmitters, lasting up to 10 months, emit a signal that is unique to each bird and can be tracked from up to 3 km away.

To support the appeal or for further information, visit www.gwct.org.uk or telephone: 01425 652381.

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Photocaption:  The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust would like to help add a dash of the ‘wilder’ element into some released shoots and is therefore initiating new research, which aims to do just this.

Photocredit:  Peter Thompson, GWCT

Notes to editors

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is an independent wildlife conservation charity which carries out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats and we lobby for agricultural and conservation policies based on science. We employ 14 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming and statistics.  We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant-aid from Government and private bodies.   The Trust is also responsible for a number of Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

For Information, contact
Morag Walker, Head of Media
Telephone: 01425-652381
Direct:  01425-651000
Mobile: 07736-124097