Ringnecked Pheasants 



Native pheasant populations are restricted to counties bordering Lake Erie, 

 southern Lake Huron and the western portions of Lake Ontario. Elsewhere, deep 

 snow is the principal factor limiting pheasant survival. 



Good vegetative cover such as brushy hedgerows is needed to support good 

 pheasant populations in agricultural countryside. Present agricultural trends 

 towards larger farms, highly mechanized equipment, very large unbroken fields 

 and heavy insecticide applications are damaging to pheasants. In many cash crop 

 areas, hunting success has declined considerably. Several studies have been 

 initiated to evaluate specifically those factors associated with the lower pheasant 

 densities which now prevail in some areas. 



Within the pheasant range, many townships are authorized to sell licences for 

 the hunting of pheasants, rabbits and fox. The table below shows the number of 

 licences issued by regulated townships within the districts of Erie, Hespeler, Maple 

 and Lindsay. 



39 



