S.D. pheasant-preserve idea draws fire

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — South Dakota wildlife officials are considering increasing the number of pheasants that hunters can kill per day on a preserve, from 15 to 20.

The proposal is drawing fire from hunters like Charles Rokusek of Sioux Falls who believe the current limit is already too high. He says boosting it more will give hunting “a black eye.”

Pierre lawyer Brett Koenecke presented the petition for a preserve limit increase to the Game, Fish and Parks Commission earlier this month, on behalf of the South Dakota Sport Hunting Association. He says the group’s members want to better meet the wishes of their clients.

Koenecke says the issue doesn’t involve public pheasants, but birds that have been purchased by the preserve owner and released on private property for clients to shoot.

Chris Hesla, executive director of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, says the proposal shows how pheasant hunting has become more about the money it generates than about the enjoyment of the sport.

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