Common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus l.1758) management in Serbia

Abstract

The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L. 1758) is an allochtonous game species of great importance to the hunting sector in Serbia. Growing concerns over a decline in its population raise issues about the proper management and hunting of common pheasants. As this research tends to identify the importance of common pheasants to Serbian hunters, the present study is based on a mixed research model combining traditional analyses with social studies on Serbian hunters. The data utilized have been collected from the annual management plans of 272 hunting grounds across Serbia and the interviews with 377 hunters. The results obtained suggest that there are significant differences between the analyzed variables in the management plans examined, which indicates that the pheasant hunting management in Serbia is not harmonized. However, the social studies conducted identify the common pheasant as the most hunted and popular game species with Serbian hunters. Accordingly, the common pheasant hunting and management in Serbia has to be improved in order to meet the hunters' expectations and ensure their satisfaction.