Hunting, Restocking and Catching: The pros and cons of the three most popular techniques for capturing galliformes; the cage, the prodina and the vertical nets.
In the restocking areas, the capture of the wild is a duty that the most capable hunters carry out with cyclicality as the activity guarantees abundance throughout the year. When we talk about the capture of galliformes for the purpose of restocking, we are referring specifically to ingenious techniques designed for the pheasant, but also for the red partridge and the gray partridge.
Not all galliformes, however, are objects of capture for the purpose of natural reproduction and repopulation: it would not go through the head of any hunter, for example, to put a rock partridge in the bag given the considerable difficulty represented not only by the wildness of the animal but also by the dangers imposed by its natural habitat.
As mentioned, the simplest and most versatile galliform to catch is the pheasant that lives in restocking and trapping areas. This means that from these areas it is possible to collect a predetermined number of pheasants annually that will be moved to neighboring areas. Numbers and methods are decided every year by local administrations thanks above all to scientific calculations based on the censuses carried out in the area.
That said, what really interests the hunter who deals with the capture of pheasant or galliformes in general, are the techniques he will try to implement. Among the most popular there is certainly the use of trap cages, the use of vertical nets or prodine. To choose the best technique, several variables must be taken into account, but above all how many operators volunteer for the capture and coverage of the territory that they will be able to guarantee.
The use of cages is undoubtedly the most used method precisely because it is considered the safest and most efficient, but also the least bloody, since the risk of damage to the animal is reduced to a minimum. This is an element that should not be underestimated, given that the game caught must be of excellent quality: its function will be to repopulate neighboring areas and it will only be able to do so if in full health. The cages are usually made with an iron rod frame, closed with a net made with rope. Less appreciable are those with wire mesh, even if with large mesh: the animal in the cage, beating its wings and straining itself, could injure itself.
Normally these traps are placed long before capture in the places where the pheasants feed, in the marginal areas of the forest or near bushy areas. In this way the birds will become familiar with the cages that will not infrequently be fed with grains when still empty. Once the trust of the wild has been won, the traps will be loaded and monitored with a certain frequency, especially during the meal times of the pheasants.
The indisputable advantage demonstrated by this kind of technique is represented by the fact that the traps do not have to be continuously kept under control by the operators who in recent times become less and less numerous.
Another interesting technique is that of the prodina: it is a mechanical trap that is triggered directly by the operator. To make the prodina, two frames must be placed parallel to the ground on which rope nets will be mounted. To use this type of trap it is essential to be in a flat land well frequented by pheasants. As in the case of cages, the animals will have to get used to the trap that will be mounted a few days before capture. The area will also have to be made more appetizing thanks to the use of grains scattered here and there.
The technique has its strengths and weaknesses: unfortunately it requires the presence of at least one person on the spot, yet the capture proves to be of better quality, especially because the trap is activated only in the case of suitability of the subjects that it aims to capture.
Finally, we are talking about vertical networks which, unlike other types of traps, require a large number of operators available. The pheasants are in fact pushed towards the nets, exactly as it could happen in a real hunting trip. The nets, planted shortly in advance, are fixed to the ground with two wooden poles no less than 6 meters high to which a vertical net is fixed which effectively becomes a barrier against which the pheasants collide. Of course, positioning the network in the right place is fundamental: it must be located in an obligatory crossing point and in that case it becomes really efficient and spectacular.