WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019 19SHOOT BRIEFINGGameshootersarequicktopoint
outtheconservationbenefitsof
shootingbutareweexplainingthis
wellenoughandcouldmorebedone?
Despitebeingsomeonewhogrewupon
a dietofmud,welliesandpheasant,it
tookmesometimetocomprehendthat
responsibleshootingandconservation
gohandinhand.
Forpeoplewhoaren’tintoshooting
oreatinggame,whethercountry,town
orcitybased,thelinkbetweenshooting
andconservationcanbehardtoget.At
firstglance– and,sadly,thatisoftenthe
onlyglancegiven– it’scounterintuitive.
Atsecondglance,whentheconservation
benefitsofshootingareexplained,many
peoplearguethatthosebenefitsare
simplya by-productofshooting.One
friendofminehascurlewonhisupland
shoot.That’sgreat,buthepointsouthonestly:“Wedon’thavecurlewbecausewe
activelylookafterthembutbecausethey
area spin-offofwhatwedo.”
Heargues– andisalsoputtinghis
moneywherehismessageis– thatone
wayofstrengtheningthe‘shootingis
conservation’mantraisforshootsactively
toencourageotherwildlifebenefits,notjust
thosethatresultfrombestpracticeshoot
managementandgoodgamekeeping.
Sowhetheryou’reinvolvedwitha small
syndicateshootthatdoesa fewpot-filler
walked-updaysorwitha biggerdriven
operationthereisa greatdealthatcanbe
done,somelargescaleandcostly,others
simpleandinexpensive.Ideas?Ensure
swifts,swallowsandbatscanaccessold
farmbuildingsandleavecrevicesforthem
innewbuildingsorconversions;putup
owlandbirdboxes;plantnativehedging,
treesandshrubs;builda sandmartinnestingbank;createwetlandareasfor
amphibians;digponds;plantreedbeds;
sowwildflowermeadows...
A shootandfarmnearmeworks
thisway,thankstoitsowner’sloveof
wildlifeandwillingnesstoinvestsome
ofhisownmoneyincreatinga wildlife
haven.The700-acrefarmishometo
144 birdspecies, 25 mammalspecies
includingeightspeciesofbat, 26 species
ofbutterfly and 55 nativetreeandshrub
species.Morethan100,000treesand
shrubshavebeenplanted, 12 pondsdug
andflowermeadowscreatedinwetland
areas.Thisisclearlya large-scale,long-
termprojectbutasthesupermarket
advertasserts,‘everylittlehelps’.So
evenif yourshootcan’truntothislevel
ofinputit candosomething– a whip-
roundforsomeowlboxesora newpond
wouldbea greatstart.Then,vitally,tell
everyoneinyourarea– schools,clubs,
groups,localpapers– aboutit andpost
updatesonsocialmedia,too.Everyone
lovesa goodnewsstoryafterall.Under the coverts with...
Geoff Garrod
Headkeeper at Audley End, Essex
Whatdoyoulookforwardto
mostaboutyourfirstdayon
partridgesatAudleyEnd each
seasonandwhy?
Itallstartson2 Februaryand
allthepreparationuntil
1 September–fromrepairing
penstomakingsurethegame
chillerisworkingproperly.All
thesejobsandmanymoreare
alldonesoonthatfirstday
whenI meettheGunsI know
allisreadysoI canshowthe
estateofftopeoplewhomight
onlyvisitAudleyEndonce.
WhentheGunsstandonthe
pegandbirdsaregoingoverI
can stand back with a sense of
prideknowingall the hard work
wasworthit.
Whenareyourpartridgesat
theirbestduringtheseason
andwhataretheidealflight
conditionsforthem?
Ourbirdsareattheirbest
oncetheyhavehada coupleof
flights,bothbeforeandright
atthestartoftheseasonover
theGuns.I thinkwestartto
seethebirdsreachingtheirfull
potentialverysoonafter,and
thenstaylikeit allseason.The
bestweatherforusisa nice
wind10mphto20mphcoming
anywherefromsouth-eastto
north-west with an overcastsky.Windsanystrongerdo
makeforspectacularbirdsbut
I haveinthepastseenbirds
fly toofarfromcovers and not
comeback.
What’sthemostnoticeable
changethatyou’veseen
concerningpartridge
shootingsinceyou became
agamekeeper?
Themostnoticeable
hastobefarmingan
andlackofundersta
thecountryside.For
goingfromtheold-fa
bird-friendlywaytot
hi-tech,bigmachine
blockfarming,notso
friendly.Whilemostf
nowhavebird-friend
schemesandgrants
strideshavebeentak
encouragewildbirds
wildlife,rearinghasm
away from broody heIsit forbetterorworse?I’mnot
surebutshootinghasadapted
toallthechangesandstillis
strong.Westillneedtoconvince
a lotmorepeoplewhodonot
understandthecountryside
way.Thecountrysideand
conservationwillbea lotworse
off without shooting.Have you ever thought about...Howthoseinvolvedingameshootingcanmakeit evenbetter.BySapiens.