Inmate Program Proves Successful in 2^nd Year by Giving Back to the Environment

Buffalo, NY – Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard announced the Jail Management Division’s Pheasant Brooding program released the last of 1,200 pheasants to the wild Friday.

The pheasants were raised and cared for by inmates as part of a wildlife rehabilitation partnership with New York State Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).  The 1-day-old chicks were delivered to the Erie County Correctional Facility this past spring and were kept in coops then protected flight pens until the birds’ release.

Friday, the last 100 Ringneck pheasants were released onto the state’s Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area in Collins in efforts to increase the fowl’s population; the DEC also selected private lands throughout Western New York for pheasant releases.

Last year, the first year of the program, the Sheriff’s Office released approximately 1,000 birds throughout Western New York under DEC’s supervision.