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Enough Reared Red-Legs for Today, but Fewer Wild Ones for Tomorrow? The Dilemma of Gamebird Rearing and Releasing

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The Future of the Red-legged Partridge

Part of the book series: Wildlife Research Monographs ((WIREMO,volume 6))

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Abstract

Owing to the long-term decline of wild gamebird populations and the advances on poultry production, rearing has become increasingly popular for put-and-take shooting rather than for re-establishing wild populations. Although hunters may prefer shooting wild gamebirds, reared ones ensure hunting bags at a reasonable cost; hence the majority of gamebird shooting in Europe, either commercial or non-commercial, rely on reared birds. This chapter reviews current knowledge on gamebird rearing and releasing, with a special focus on red-legged partridges.

It is estimated that around 14 million red-legged partridges are reared for shooting in Europe annually, being the vast majority of them reared under commercial methods. Research confirms that commercial rearing and releasing cause a long list of detrimental effects on reared birds, their wild counterparts and other wildlife. However, non-commercial rearing and releasing for re-establishment attempts may be helpful for conservation purposes; reared birds in general will fly well in front of guns, and a small proportion may breed if given the chance.

To ensure the fate of wild gamebirds’ populations and the feasibility of rearing, we suggest changing from large-scale releasing for shooting into releasing for conservation. To do so, quality labels to certify estates producing wild red-legged partridges should be launched, and wild gamebird management should get funding (private and public) and recognition. We suggest ways to improve commercial rearing and provide guidelines for rearing and releasing for re-establishment purposes.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Nick Sotherton for his comments and suggestions on early versions and Nicholas Aebischer, who gave data of partridge releasing and improved the final draft. Special thanks are given to Jasmine E. Clark for her help with French translations. We are grateful to the editors for their invitation to participate in this book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Burgate Manor, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK

    Carlos Sánchez-García, Rufus B. Sage & Francis D. Buner

  2. Universidad de León, León, Spain

    Carlos Sánchez-García

  3. Fundación Artemisan, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Carlos Sánchez-García

  4. Research Division, Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, Ethnikis Antistasis, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Christos Sokos

  5. University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Christos Sokos

  6. Game & Wildlife Management Consulting, Campiglia Marittima, Livorno, Italy

    Francesco Santilli

  7. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Paris, France

    Françoise Ponce & Elisabeth Bro

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  1. Carlos Sánchez-García
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  3. Francesco Santilli
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  7. Francis D. Buner
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Correspondence to Carlos Sánchez-García .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain

    Fabián Casas

  2. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain

    Jesús T. García

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Sánchez-García, C. et al. (2022). Enough Reared Red-Legs for Today, but Fewer Wild Ones for Tomorrow? The Dilemma of Gamebird Rearing and Releasing. In: Casas, F., García, J.T. (eds) The Future of the Red-legged Partridge. Wildlife Research Monographs, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96341-5_7

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