The Field

the taming of the pheasant

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Q

I have a Reeves’s pheasant on my land that has taken quite a dislike to my wife, so much so that if she is out on the lawnmower or gardening and he sees her, he tries to attack. Besides despatchin­g the aggressive bird, what can I do?”

DU, Essex

A

Mike Sawn, head of education at the Game & Wildlife Conservati­on Trust in Hampshire, says that Reeves’s pheasants have quite a reputation for becoming aggressive like this and, in his experience, there is nothing to be done to calm them down. He says that in considerin­g despatch, it is worth reflecting on the bird’s legal status under the Wildlife and Countrysid­e Act, 1981. Aside from a general presumptio­n against releasing alien species into the wild, there are a few species, and the Reeves’s pheasant is one of them, that it is specifical­ly illegal to liberate. This is because they are known to have the potential to form feral population­s and could therefore pose a threat to native wildlife. On this basis, you could consider despatch of this bird as your moral duty to reduce the risk of it finding some hens and forming a feral population.

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