Partridges and Pheasants: Gun Sports
(asked on 6th January 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of a) pheasants and b) partridges that were released for recreational shooting in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.
The release of pheasant and red legged partridge on or within 500 metres of a European site must be authorised under licence. It is a requirement of such licences to report releases made under their authorisation. Our records show that the following numbers of birds were reported released during the relevant years.
| Pheasant | Red-legged partridge |
2023 | 221,283 reported | 180,868 reported |
2024 | 361,053 reported | 209,030 reported |
2025 | 108,231 reported so far | 46,705 reported so far |
Releases undertaken beyond 500 metres of a European site, do not need to be reported and my Department therefore does not hold the information requested.
The number of birds being released has been increasing, and it is currently estimated that between 39 and 57 million pheasants and 8.1 and 13 million partridges are released in the UK, with 85% of these in England. It is thought that releases on or within 500 metres of a European site in England, represent less than 1% of total release activity in the UK.