Hunters have converged on King Island in Bass Strait this weekend for Australia's only wild pheasant shoot.

The birds are native to Asia, but they were were introduced to Australia by the British and are used all around the world for hunting.

Most of the brightly coloured male birds that are hunted are bred in captivity then released.

But on King Island things are different.

There, the birds live and breed in the wild and once a year on the Queen's Birthday long weekend hunters can kill male pheasants.

For decades hunters from around Australia have returned each year to stay with landowners who let them hunt on their land.

Julian Wolfhagen has travelled from Northern Tasmania to try his luck this weekend.

"You have the challenge of very wily, hardy, incredibly athletic birds that are a real challenge to hunt," he said.

"That's probably it, it's the challenge."

Local beef farmer Roger Clemons has been allowing hunters onto his property for years.

And he has seen pheasants get away.

"The pheasant shooters have gone off on their merry way and a couple [of pheasants] have just walked through the backyard and I'm sitting and having a cup of coffee and having a good old grin to myself as they waddle past," he said.

This weekend is the 19th time that Victorian farmer James Humphries has been to King Island

"Well, I suppose it's the only place around that you can go ... with wild traditional pheasants, I suppose," he said.

"And half of it is to bring the dog and see your dog work and what they're bred for."

Fewer pheasant hunters than in years gone by

King Island landowners who host the annual pheasant hunt on their properties said the number of shooters taking part in the tradition was falling.

King Island Game Bird Association president Nick Cooper said about a 100 hunting licences are sold every year but that number was in decline.

"They're all getting a lot older, the traditional guys that used to come and it's, I suppose the hunt's changing a bit, as in regard to farms are getting bigger here and a lot of getting turned into corporate farms so it's sort of harder to gain access to farm land," he said.

Mr Clemons said there were still plenty of birds around, but not as many younger hunters.

"Hunters that used to come here are now sort of 70 plus and some of them aren't here with us any more," he said.

"On my farm we've had people coming here for 40 or 50 years and I think there's only one left out of the original crew."

The hunt is authorised and licensed by the Tasmanian Government.

Several animal rights groups were contacted for comment, but none expressed a knowledge or concern about the hunt.