Shooting Gazette – September 2019

(Ron) #1
WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019 19

SHOOT BRIEFING

G

ameshootersarequicktopoint
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,buthepointsout

honestly:“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 sandmartin

nestingbank;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 overcast

sky.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 he

Isit 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.
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