Montana wants to release 50,000 ‘pen pheasants’ per year. Most of them quickly die.

By: Jordan Hansen

Outlets: Daily Montanan

Published: July 21, 2026

Words: 1,834

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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A controversial program that sees farm-raised pheasants released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for youth to hunt could expand by as much as 40,000 birds annually if a proposal by the agency is approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission next month.

The birds rarely live long, a draft environmental assessment for the project states, and less than 10% of the released pheasants survive a winter, according to advocacy organizations.

Legislators are …

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