SAY NO TO SLAUGHTERING 31,000 PHEASANTS: Hand-raised semi-tame pheasants to be raised and released for NYS canned hunts; only 2.8% of New Yorkers are hunters.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is planning to give 30,000 non-native ring-necked pheasants to the pubic to raise and then release through the hunting season as hunters - young and old - wait at release sites. The birds don't have a chance; they are hand-raised, used to humans feeding them and don't have the skills to survive - they don't avoid the hunters!
In the pheasant "recreational" slaughter program, youth and teens are encouraged to begin a career killing birds/wildlife, while hunters litter the forests and fields with lead pellets that are ingested non-target wildlife. Exposure to "trophy" and canned hunts are proven to increase the incidence of violence and anti-social behavior in youth and hunting families, while most of society is working to reduce violence!
Millions are spent on this inherently cruel program and to prop up NYS hunting activities, even as hunting is becoming increasingly unpopular. Just 2.8% of NYS residents are hunters, yet the NYS DEC funding system, through the DEC's Conservation Fund Advisory Board (CFAB), prohibits non-hunters from making decisions for the massive DEC funding budget, while 97.2% of the public (non-hunters) are excluded from this and other wildlife-killing programs.
The DEC has asked for “public comments” even as they have already solicited members of the public to sign up to raise pheasants for the hunt! Ignoring strong public opposition to the pheasant hunting program and releasing thousands of non-native birds depletes natural resources for native wildlife are both serious violations of the DEC’s own directives and regulations. Pro-hunting corruption and discrimination toward non-hunters is "business as usual" in the NYS DEC. Tell the NYS Governor and DEC Commissioner to honor the DEC's mission, to stop encouraging violence against wildlife, wipe out the "3-year licensed-hunters only need apply" board membership requirement from the CFAB, and to stop this year's release of 31,000 pheasants for canned hunts in NYS.