...and we know who's trying to take them!

Changing habitat has been one of the biggest reasons for the decline of wild pheasants in NY State, no doubt the coyote populations have also done their share, but the end is now near for any hopes of pheasant hunting remaining a choice in NY State. Read it and weep, as it may be your state game dept. next that has some tough choices to make:

Firearms Industry Opposes Closing of Reynolds Game Farm

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for the hunting, shooting sports, and firearms industry -- is officially opposing the closure of the Richard E. Reynolds Game Farm, near Ithaca, N.Y. The farm is the only state-owned pheasant-rearing facility, and its closure by the end of the year, as ordered by Gov. David Paterson, may mark the end of the popular pheasant-stocking program that is carried out on more than 100 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation-managed public hunting grounds across the state.

The closure has been viewed by Gov. Paterson as a significant cost-saving measure as he prepared the state's next budget. However, expenses attributed to the operation of Reynolds have been quoted to be approximately $750,000, and much of that is attributable to staff salaries and benefits. According to New York State Conservation Council President Harold Palmer, however, none of the staff will be laid off, but, instead simply moved to other jobs.

The Reynolds Game Farm expenses are paid for by the state's Conservation Fund, whose source of funding is primarily generated by the purchase of sportsmen's licenses and the excise tax revenue from the purchase of hunting and fishing equipment by New York sportsmen. Yet, the closure of the pheasant-rearing facility will hurt those very people who fund it and whom it serves.

Gov. Paterson sounded triumphant in directing the slaughter of the 8,000 pheasants at the Reynolds facility, which rightfully belonged to the sportsmen of New York, to be processed and packaged for distribution to a food pantry in the state's Southern Tier.

"It is very ironic that the governor would claim a victory in feeding the hungry, while taking these pheasants -- and the overall, extremely popular pheasant-hunting experience -- from the people who have paid for them," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.

http://www.nssf.org//

" none of the staff will be laid off" Same old, same old ! The service disappears but the bloated beaurocracy remains.

Being a prior NYS resident and lifetime license holder it doesn't suprise me of this idiocy. It just means more of sportsman dollars will go down state to help the welfare bums. NY in the 50-70's had great wild pheasant population which rivaled some of the western states. PA used to have a good population once also. Sportsmen and women need to unite and get this bum out of office.

Hey, he is getting an early start on "spreading the wealth" which will get him brownie points with the new prez.----I am sure it won't stop there either! Its almost...well no..it is impossible to stop this freight train. The government officials do whatever they damned well want to do...and we better start liking it. There is no end to this insanity.

I live in upstate ny. Paterson is not a friend of the hunter and don't be surprised if he doesn't raise the fees for hunters or find some way to tax us. All he cares about NYC and all our state gov. in charge are all from there. My 2cents

I can see cutting the pheasant farm, but without laying off the employees, how is this a cut-back?

You guys in upstate NY need to secede and form your own state, apart from NYC. Same goes for residents of Illinois (get rid of Chicago) California, etc.

did i read it right:

8000 pheasant cost 750.000,-$

to think that the most expencive birds in the uk can get close to 55£ but that's in the bag.

you guy's should hire a good european game keeper and get 5 to 10 times the amount of birds for that kind of money.....

all kidding aside how can it be so expensive to do 8000 birds ?

best regards

peter

The $750,000 is the budget to run the place for the year, but who knows what was included in that total (electricity, fuel, feed, employee wages?).

The 8,000 are just the breeders left over, the total release per year is more like 100,000, so about $7.50 per pheasant. This may explain more:

"The state farm's adult pheasant release program provides about 25,000 adult pheasants a year to fall stocking programs around the state. The farm also releases about 15,000 immature birds in hunting areas in summer so they have time to settle into the habitat before the fall hunting season, when they'll "provide a more traditional experience hunting wilder birds," according to the DEC Web site. The farm also provides about 60,000 newborn chicks to various clubs that raise them to maturity and release them for hunting."

Typical anti hunting democrat at work where will the license fee dollars & ammo taxes go now to some pet project of the dems?

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:
Typical anti hunting democrat at work where will the license fee dollars & ammo taxes go now to some pet project of the dems?

Taxpayers pay for hunted birds but you're too "capitalist" to provide universal health care?

quote:

Originally posted by BBBruce:

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:
Typical anti hunting democrat at work where will the license fee dollars & ammo taxes go now to some pet project of the dems?

Taxpayers pay for hunted birds but you're too "capitalist" to provide universal health care?

Hunters paid for the birds, with their $'s, whether they income tax payers or not.

JPK