Vast numbers of pheasants are released for shooting in Ireland too. Each one survives by constantly devouring native wildlife alive. They artificially boost fox/mink populations, impacting vanishing native ground-nesting birds. They help spread Lyme disease to people, etc. This madness MUST end. - ThreadSky

irishrainforest.bsky.social • 4 days ago

Vast numbers of pheasants are released for shooting in Ireland too.

Each one survives by constantly devouring native wildlife alive. They artificially boost fox/mink populations, impacting vanishing native ground-nesting birds. They help spread Lyme disease to people, etc.

This madness MUST end.

Reposted from Guy Shrubsole

Landowners release 50million pheasants a year into the British countryside - and a new study shows how this is boosting the number of ticks carrying Lyme disease

www.forbes.com/sites/johndr...

Comments

allotment7a.bsky.social•3 days ago

50. Million....... wow!

thelivesaroundus.bsky.social•3 days ago

Most people are unaware that pheasants are not native wild birds, but imports raised like pets to be slaughtered by people who enjoy killing.

mmdc.bsky.social•3 days ago

I always thought that they were native to Ireland!

thelivesaroundus.bsky.social•3 days ago

They're native to Eurasia, of which Ireland is a part. But, being an island, Ireland would not naturally have every mainland species present, and would expect to have species and subspecies not found elsewhere.

thelivesaroundus.bsky.social•3 days ago

Even if they occurred naturally, they would never achieve the numbers this so-called "sport" imposes on the ecosystem.

nonviolence.bsky.social•3 days ago

Their feed is usually from mono crops that add many pesticides to the environment and destroy the soil microbiome and insects. Nothing compared to the Red Junglefowl but still.

clarelucy.bsky.social•3 days ago

All so some idiots can feel superior by killing a living thing.

davidscallan.bsky.social•3 days ago

“Vast numbers”: Ireland would be on the lower side of this graph. The % of gun clubs that release do not release a lot. There’s a handful of estates in the country that release a few thousand.

irishrainforest.bsky.social•3 days ago

The fact that you see them everywhere you go across the Irish countryside very much suggests otherwise.

Pheasants are an invasive species, and *none* should be released at all.

davidscallan.bsky.social•3 days ago

I don’t see what you see when I drive across the country. Let me know if you find any report/study showing pheasants are impacting biodiversity in Ireland. They’ve been here for a long time.

rogermellie.bsky.social•2 days ago

I genuinely didn’t know pheasants weren’t native. I’d grown up seeing them rise out of corn fields. Genuinely thought they were part of the ecosystem. Everyday’s a school day

katieal.bsky.social•3 days ago

Almost every time I take the train 🚆 from
Cornwall up to London through Dorset etc I see a pheasant or two

irishrainforest.bsky.social•3 days ago

Be honest: you don't care a hoot about native biodiversity, only shooting, and will dispute *any* evidence presented that releasing an alien species like pheasants into the wild is highly damaging.

davidscallan.bsky.social•3 days ago

I’ll be honest: I care a lot about biodiversity. And the gun clubs in Sligo and Galway I am involved in are doing good work for biodiversity. We clearly agree to disagree about pheasant releasing in Ireland.

animatewithdermot.bsky.social•3 days ago

"Agree to disagree", as though this was about opinions about whether Picard or Kirk is the best captain. Don't be obtuse.

liamogrady2.bsky.social•3 days ago

Pheasants are not native to Ireland and were introduced here in the 16th century. Today there is a population of over one million of them in Ireland; that's a one million-sized problem right there.

jsweetabix.bsky.social•3 days ago

I was once treated to a 'buzzards are not native but pheasants are' argument by a relative. Pure gun club propaganda. Apparently the decline in songbirds is the fault of the buzzards returning!

patrickjmb.bsky.social•4 days ago

📌

gmoneyballs.bsky.social•3 days ago

Need more wolves and lions

1greenmantle.bsky.social•3 days ago

I was surprised about the ticks as I thought the pheasant would eat them . I know for example guinea fowl have a reputation for eating such creatures. anyway Lyme disease = deer numbers :-(

espritescalier.bsky.social•3 days ago

If anyone went around throwing knot-weed seeds or cane toads into the countryside they'd be locked up but it's apparently fine to release thousands of non-native birds into the countryside and destroy any native flora and fauna that might compete with them, because "sport".

domquixote974.bsky.social•2 days ago

Raised and fed by humans, so I suspect that they descend on the guns looking for food.

Sport my hole.

dublin1al.bsky.social•1 day ago

Exactly that....trained to respond to a whistle they come for the food....on the last day the guns are waiting.

I fail to understand how one can derive any sense of enjoyment from this slaughter.

maketotalcollapse.bsky.social•1 day ago

The Brit ruling class are psychopaths, almost to a man.

lokivanlodenaken.bsky.social•3 days ago

You need wild boars and wolves, and bears, not the royal hunting club

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