Thousands of pheasants are on the loose after tornado damages barn
Thousands of pheasants are on the loose after the roof of their barn at MacFarlane Pheasant Farm was torn off during a tornado.
By Madison Rios
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JANESVILLE, Wisconsin (WKOW) — Thousands of pheasants are on the loose after the roof of their barn at MacFarlane Pheasant Farm was torn off during Saturday night’s tornado.
MacFarlane Pheasant Farm is the largest pheasant farm in the country. The roof of barn that once held 50,000 pheasants sustained significant damage from the EF2 tornado that tore through Janesville.
Farm owner, William ‘Bill’ MacFarlane, says, the farm has spent so much time focusing on the dangers of bird flu, that this tornado caught them by surprise.
“This tornado came out of nowhere,” Bill said. “The component that made it interesting was how large it was, versus sometimes you see this real narrow focus.”
Because of the bird flu, the farm cannot take back any of the pheasants that may have wandered off of the farm.
“You can’t be putting wild birds or released birds back in the pens,” Bill said. “We’re really not putting too much effort into catching the birds because they’re wild.”
Bill tells 27 News, the damage looks scary, but he wants the community to know he and the farm are truly okay.
“We have insurance,” Bill said. “My priorities are more about [making sure] my employees are okay, and that people are okay and that we handle this with grace and acceptance.”
Bill says, the farm has been in business for 95 years, and the storm damage will not stop him from continuing that.
“We’re part of the community. People know that we’ve been here a long time, so what I want to say is, thank you,” Bill said.
MacFarlane Pheasant Farm is asking the Janesville community to not try to catch some of the escaped birds, but rather let them be.
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