Good plan, poor execution.
Having worked with prisoners in a work release program before I will say many inmates are very skilled and passionate about their job or task they are given. The programs like this give the prisoners something to look forward to and they often find new passions that keep them out of jail after release. They are likely not getting more than a few dollars per day, that goes to their restitution for the work they do.
I also put on a youth pheasant hunt every year, using pen raised pheasants. The first couple of years volunteers would plant the birds a few hours before the hunters and dogs would arrive. Often times the birds would be within a few feet of where they were planted. Just like in the article they would not fly. I have never witnessed a ground sluicing by the kids, but the pheasant would at times fly very low making it unsafe for the dog and handlers. We began using pheasant launchers, basically a spring loaded sling that catapults the pheasant upward into the air much more realistically of a wild pheasant. The hunter, mentor, and dog walk through the field and come to launcher. The dog goes on point and the bird is released. If the kids weren’t told before hand what was going to happen they probably would not know the pheasant was in a launcher and catapulted into flight.
Without using pen raised birds we could not guarantee the kids would see a pheasant, let alone get a shot at a bird. And the reality of any pen raised bird whether it’s a pheasant, turkey, chicken or what not is their plumage is not going to be as pretty as a wild bird.
The kids realize they are shooting pen raised birds, and I have never had one kid complain that they are. In fact, it’s the opposite they are ecstatic that they have been given the opportunity to work with a well trained dog and a mentor.
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