Quote:
Originally Posted by elkhunter11
Over the last few weeks, the release schedule was very predictable, because they released on the same days, at about the same time for the last three weeks. And the sport is called hunting, if you want guaranteed birds, the best option is to just buy them, and not waste time hunting. By the time you add up all pf the costs including fuel, ammunition, licenses, ammunition etc, it wouldn't cost any more to buy them, then it is to dry an hour each way to a release site to shoot them. And I can't see anyone actually enjoying shooting birds as they leave the crates. The program itself is a good idea, the ACA just needs to prevent the schedule from being so predictable that people are waiting to slaughter the birds as they leave the crates.
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What difference does it make if the birds are "slaughtered" by a few buddies in the parking lot or by you and your buddies a half mile away. Your bird is held under point until you walk up to him and you have proclaimed yourself on numerous occasions as an expert wing shot.
The chances of the bird's survival is likely higher in the parking lot than out in the field with you and your dog. If fact; I would wager a large amount of the birds you "slaughter" have zero chance of survival as compared to 20-50% at release.
"Sporting" or "Fair Chase" does refer to the animal or bird's chances of surviving. The greater the chance of survival, the greater the challenge or more ethical the hunt.
The real problem here is that some believe that their enjoyment is greater or more important than someone else's enjoyment. Ground swatting a pheasant may be more challenging and exciting to a new or occasional hunter than a perfect point and flush is to someone else.
I like the idea of a "timeout period" when the birds are released but tricking people into missing a release day is selfish and harmful to the sport. Nobody wants to drive an hour or two with zero chance of seeing a bird and many can hardly afford the trip. A couple or three useless trips and that person might just give up on pheasants altogether. As you know, the more involved the better with the chance of more sites and more birds.
You do realize that the majority are not expert hunters, do not have well trained dogs and are not expert wing shots. In a democratic system the majority might argue that expert hunters and wing shots be banned from the sites to encourage a fairer chase and an increased chance of more birds remaining on non release days.