When it comes to hunting this time of year in Wyoming, most of the big game hunting seasons have ended, leaving many hunters without a reason to go out.
But the Wyoming Game and Fish Department wants to remind hunters around the state that another kind of hunting is available. Currently they are promoting that most of the waterfowl hunting is still available.
In a news release from the Game and Fish Department, they highlighted pheasant season in particular as a season that is still available. Robin Kepple, the information specialist with the Game and Fish Department, explained that the season for pheasants starts on November 1 and goes until December 31 giving any hunter interested time to get licensed .
In most pheasant hunting areas around Laramie, you are typically permitted to shoot three pheasants a day and allowed to have up to nine birds in your possession at home. Robin Keppler also added that you should look up the regulations for each hunting spot that you attend to make sure that the rules have not changed as the amount of birds you can take varies throughout the state.
As the population of wild pheasants in Wyoming can be scarce, the Game and Fish Department created a pheasant farm to increase pheasant numbers in certain areas.
To hunt where the birds are stocked, hunters need to purchase a pheasant special management permit on top of a standard pheasant license. This is to try and help with the cost of having the pheasant farms.
“It cost about $600,000 a year to keep the farms going, and we only get about $60,000 dollars in bird licenses.” Kepple said.
The Game and Fish Department is willing to pay this price, Kepple said, as long as there is an interest in pheasant hunting. On campus some students have taken up this interest.
Alex Terry, a member of UW’s shotgun team, hunts pheasants regularly and was eager to show off pictures of the pheasants he has gotten this year.
Terry said it is worth it to pay the fee if it helps the Game and Fish Department to keep pheasant farms open.
