6th annual Taber Pheasant Festival focuses on education

Every year for one week, hunters of all levels converge on the town of Taber for the annual Pheasant festival that took started Sunday.

The festival is an opportunity to educate and promote the benefits of pheasant hunting and conservation in Alberta.

The event is intended to raise awareness of habitat conservation and protect pheasant population.

“We’re using pheasants and pheasant hunting as a way to get people to think about what is required to maintain the species on the landscape,” Todd Zimmerling, Alberta Conservation Association president and CEO, said. “If people are concerned about wanting to maintain pheasants on the landscape, then they start thinking about habitat.”

“When people care about the land and take from the land, that’s more or less the definition of conservation,” Kyle Prince, an Alberta Conservation Association biologist, said.

The festival was started six-years ago by the Alberta Conservation Association and was intended to educate people on the value of pheasants, the benefits of hunting and the need to preserve Southern Alberta’s natural habitat.

It promotes a full cycle of conservation, with four chefs from Calgary traveled showing hunters how the entire bird can be used, covering everything from cooking methods to making flies for fly fishing.

“They’re trying to teach them (hunters) about the bones, so they can make stews, they’re trying to teach about doing stuff with the livers,” Tannis Baker, an Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance executive director, said. “These are all good parts that are being wasted, so, the real goal was how can we help make sure that the whole animals is being utilized”

The chefs have also learned a great deal from the experience.

“As a chef I’ve always started with animals brought to me,” Cam Dobranski, chef and owner of Brassier Kensington in Calgary, said.  “I’ve decided I want to go full circle and learn the process myself.”

“Getting back into hunting is a great way for people to sort of reconnect with their food source and realize what’s involved; I believe that people will cook better if they respect the ingredients,” Scott Pohorelic, SAIT culinary instructor, said.

The purpose of the festival is to create a virtuous circle, helping hunters and consumers to better appreciate pheasants, and as a result working to preserve their habitat and sustain the pheasant population in Southern Alberta.

The Taber Festival goes until October 22nd.