Re-introductions are increasingly being used as a wildlife management tool to restore extinct or depleted wild populations into suitable habitats. These guidelines have been developed to provide guiding principles for the restoration of viable Galliformes populations in the wild for conservation purposes.
As large ground-dwelling birds, pheasants are widely hunted for food, plumage and the live bird trade - consequently many species are threatened. They are largely dependent on forested habitats, making them highly vulnerable to deforestation and habitat degradation. The first edition covered 1995-1999, and many of its recommendations have been addressed.