Humane Society of the United States says this...
What Are Canned Hunts?
Canned hunting operations, also referred to as "shooting preserves" or "game ranches," are private trophy
hunting facilities that offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals that are trapped within enclosures.
Some facilities even allow their clients to kill animals remotely via the Internet.
You can read more here on their site
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And then there is this explanation...
"The closing decades of the twentieth century saw the rise of a new kind of "sport" in North America:
the "canned hunt." Although canned hunts advertise under a variety of names -- most frequently "hunting preserves," "game
ranches," or "shooting preserves" -- they can be identified by the two traits they all have in common: they charge their clients
a fee to kill an animal; and they violate the generally accepted standards of the hunting community, which are based on the
concept of "fair chase." In some cases animals may be shot in cages or within fenced enclosures; in others they may be shot
over feeding stations; some of the animals are tame and have little fear of humans, while others may be tied to a stake or
drugged before they are shot. But whatever method is used, the defining characteristic of a canned hunt is that the odds have
been artificially manipulated against the animal so heavily that the notion of fair chase is subverted. Canned hunts are commercial
hunts that take place on private land under circumstances that virtually assure the hunter of success."
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And yet another...
A canned hunt is a commercial event that takes place on private land, often called a “ranch,”
where animals are fenced in and unable to escape. Hunters pay a fee to the ranch operator for a guaranteed kill. Canned hunt
victims typically include deer, elk, and other “big game” animals — including endangered and threatened
species.
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Pheasant Stocking
Pheasants don't live long after being released.
State wildlife agencies should be stewards of the environment. But some agencies release non-native ring-necked
pheasants for target practice. Native to China, these pheasants don't thrive everywhere in the United States. To meet hunter
demand, wildlife agencies release hundreds of thousands of birds who have little chance of survival.
Because they are pen-raised, stocked pheasants often lack the skills necessary to fend for themselves. In
some states, hunters wait in parking lots for trucks bringing crates of these birds, or line up before release for the first
shot. The pheasants who survive this initial gauntlet usually succumb to harsh weather, starvation or predators. Other species
may be killed, too, to keep the pheasants alive longer for the hunters.
In the past, wildlife management saw animals as a resource to be cultivated, "culled" and then grown again.
But state wildlife agencies report to all citizens—not just hunters—and the public agrees that a humane culture
merges ethics with science. The Hunting Campaign works with scientists, policy makers, environmentalists and advocates to
question pheasant stocking's place in humane, ethical and scientific wildlife management.
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"Suppose that tomorrow a group of beings from another planet were
to land on Earth, beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals. Would they
have the right to treat you as you treat the animals you breed, keep and kill for food?" ~John Harris
