Gamekeeping
30 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
(2July2019),some“43millionare
[today]releasedintotheBritish
countryside...”comparedwith“just
threetofourmillionpheasants...
releasedtoshootin1970”.
Shanks’spony
Withfewerkeepersandmore
birds,it’srarelypracticaltodoas
thetraditionalkeeperoncedidand
useponies,orShanks’spony,toget
aroundtheestate.Asanunderkeeper,
mymodeoftransportwasa bicycle
— andhowI cametohateit,especially
whentravellingtothefeedrideswith
a postman’s bag of corn on my back
andicyconditionsontheestateroads.
Atthetime,motorisedtransportfor
morefortunategamekeeperswould
mostlikelyhavebeen a Land Rover
SeriesII orIII.
Today,thereis a hugechoiceas
manufacturerscompetewithone
anothertoproducetheultimate
hard-wearing,hard-workingvehicle.
Intoday’sworld,theequivalentofmy
much-loathedbicycleis likelytobe
a quadbike— a muchmorepractical
andcomfortableoption.
Publicopinion
Wasthegamekeeperheldinhigher
regardbythegeneralpublicinthe
1960s and 1970s than he is 50 years
on?Probablynot,particularlywhen
it comestothesubjectofbirdsofprey.
Raptorpersecutionwasalmost
asmuchofanissuehalfa century
agoasit is now.Despitebirdsof
preybeingprotected,therewas
unfortunatelyfargreaterlikelihood
ofkeepersofthetimeshowingless
respectforthelawthanis thecasein
2019.Incredibleforitsnaivetyand
ignorance,a querytotheCountry
Gentlemen’sAssociationmagazine
ofthetimeasked:“Isit truethat
sparrowhawksareprotected?
Mykeepersaystheyarevermin.”
Thankfully,it’ssafetosaythat
thevastmajorityofemployersand
theirkeepersarefarbetterinformed
now.Thisis justaswell,considering
thatalmosteverymovetheymake
ismonitoredandrecordedvia
socialmedia— somethingtheolder
generationofgamekeeperswould
have struggled to comprehend.Despitetheattractionsof
keeperingandbeingaloneinthe
countryside,at onewithnatureand
withouta bossforeverat yourback,
socialmediahasquitebrilliantly
alertedmanytothefactthatlong
periodsspentonyourowncan
havea detrimentaleffectonmental
well-being.It wassomethingnot
understood— andcertainlyunlikely
tohavebeendiscussed— inthe1970s.Modernorganisations
Today,theGamekeepers’Welfare
Trust(GWT)doesa brilliantjobof
championingtheneedforawareness
onthistopicandis theretoassist
(helpline 0300123 3088).However,
liketheNationalGamekeepers’
Organisation(NGO),it didn’texist
50 yearsago.Shouldmyyoungerself
andcontemporarieshavewished
tojoina groupofrelevancetoour
calling,ourtwooptionswerethe
BritishFieldSportsSociety(BFSS)
ortheWildfowlers’Associationof
GreatBritainandIreland(WAGBI),
whicharenowtheCountryside
AllianceandBASC.
Soyes,therehavebeenchanges
in 50 years— somesubtle,some
glaringlyobvious— but,asOwen
JoneswroteinTenYearsofGame-
Keeping, publishedin1909:
“[H]’owI enviedthekeeperhislife...
ThenI sawonlythebrightsideof
hiscalling;I knewnothingofits
ruggedness,itsupsanddowns,
itsconstantworries,itsbitter
disappointmentsandquietjoys.”
Plusçachange, plus c’est la même
chose indeed.“Wasthekeeper
heldinhigher
regardbythe
generalpublicin
the1970sthanhe
is 50 years on? ”
Days gone by: while much stays the same, modern life has inevitably crept into the shooting world
Competition today for every keepering position is fierce, with hundreds applying for each job