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Pheasants are beautiful wild birds mainly found in South East Asia. There are about 51 known varieties of pheasant in the world. Among them the pheasants found in the forests of Nepal are: Blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus), Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii), Satyr pheasant (Tragopan satyra), Kalij (Lophura leucomelanos), Koklass Pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha) and Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) which also is called Danfe and is the national bird of Nepal. It is illegal to hunt and poach the wild species of pheasant in Nepal. They are conserved by the ‘National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act-1973’.
Present condition of pheasant farming in Nepal:
In Nepal mainly Ring Neck pheasant, which is also known as common pheasant and Melanistic Mutant pheasant are reared. Ring neck Pheasant has white ring in the neck and body with different bright colors. Melanistic mutant is a mutated form of common pheasant which contain excessive melanin pigment is black-blue shiny in color.
There are about 25 farms at present in Nepal. Now in 2019-2020AD the total population of pheasants is about 10000-15000 .Next year it is projected to become 40000-50000. There is increasing market and popularity in Nepal. Pheasant meat is high in protein content and low in fat so, it has high nutritive value. Meat of pheasant is palatable and different from chicken commonly consumed in Nepal. This type of farming is new to Nepal as the farming should be done only after getting license from the Central Government.
In Europe and North America it is widely used as game birds for hunting and shooting but in the context of Nepal it is not possible up to now. Despite that it has the growing market for meat products in hotels and restaurants and its feathers can be used in the garment industry. Government should encourage pheasant farmers by providing subsidy plans and insurance policies. It can be a new and promising platform alongside the poultry market of Nepal.