How many gamebirds are released in the UK each year?

Abstract

Large numbers of gamebirds (pheasants Phasianus colchicus, red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa and mallard Anus platyrhynchos) are released annually in the UK to support recreational shooting. It is important to know how many of these birds are being released because their release and management has ecological effects on the wildlife and habitats of the UK. There is little regulation governing their release, and consequently, an accurate figure for the numbers being released is unknown. I took 12 different approaches, totalling 4329 estimates of the numbers of birds being released annually, based on a series of datasets that described numbers of birds being held for breeding, rearing or release, being released, managed or shot on game shoots, being shot by individual guns or being recorded during breeding bird surveys. These 12 approaches produced estimates ranging from 14.7 to 106.1 million with a mean of 43.2 million (95% CI 29.0–57.3 million). This suggests that 31.5 million pheasants (range 29.8–33.7 million), 9.1 million red-legged partridges (range 5.6–12.5 million) and 2.6 million mallard (range 0.9–6.0 million) are released annually in the UK. These figures differ substantially from both official records of gamebirds and previous published estimates, and I discuss why such differences may occur. I set these figures in the context of the number and behaviour of shoots operating in the UK. Improved estimates of numbers of gamebird being released are critical if we are to better understand the ecological effects occurring in areas where they are released and managed.

An initial assessment of the sustainability of waterbird harvest in the United Kingdom

“…Wintering bird populations for the UK were obtained from the latest published estimates (Frost et al, 2019). The estimate for mallard was increased by 2.6 million birds to account for the annual release of captive-raised birds for shooting purposes (Madden, 2021). We estimated a standard deviation for the population estimates by averaging the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS; Frost et al 2021) index for each species for the winters 2012/13 – 2016/17, which corresponded to the period used to estimate duck populations.…”

“…The approximately 1.4 million remaining harvested waterbirds are harvested inland on fields and a broad range of wetlands, often on artificially fed sites. Released mallard Anas platyrhynchos are a significant proportion of the inland waterbird harvest with current release estimates of approximately 2.6 million (Madden, 2021), and harvest estimates of approximately 950,000 birds per year (Aebischer, 2019). Therefore, a significant proportion of other wild duck and goose species are also harvested in these inland areas due to the creation and provision of appropriate habitat, as well as supplementary feeding.…”

Evaluation of Nutritional Quality and Sensory Parameters of Meat from Mallard and Four Species of Wild Goose

“…Restocking mallard populations with individuals raised in captivity is a practice dating back to the early 1900s in North America [ 19 ]. In Europe, the practice became more common in the 1970s and, although hard to estimate, more than 5.5 million farmed mallards are released in Europe per year for hunting purposes [ 20 , 21 ], at least 250,000 of which in Sweden [ 22 ]. The general method for rearing mallards for release starts with mallard eggs being produced in breeding facilities by birds originating from wild-trapped and domestic lines.…”

The effects of released pheasants on invertebrate populations in and around woodland release sites

“…Pheasants Phasianus colchicus (also red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa and mallard Anas platyrhynchos) are released in the UK for recreational hunting. These releases comprise some tens of millions of birds annually (Madden, 2021) with the birds being managed postrelease through habitat creation, predator control, and supplementary feeding in an area influenced by shooting of over 90,000 km 2 (PACEC2014). Their release and associated management can have a wide and mixed range of effects on the habitats and wildlife in and around the woodland release sites Mason et al, 2020;Sage et al, 2020).…”

“…Released pheasants are routinely fed throughout, so while any consumption of wild foods by these birds will normally be additional or incidental, invertebrates have been recorded as part of their diet (Doxon & Carroll, 2010;Hoodless et al, 2001). An estimated 39-57 million pheasants are released each year into UK woodlands (Madden, 2021), and consequently, even low individual levels of direct predation could affect invertebrate populations. Corke (1989) reported a negative correlation between UK 10 km 2 tetrads where pheasants were reported (according to the BTO bird atlas) and a suite of butterfly species which he suggested could have been caused directly.…”