D. MOOREArecentinvitationtofishfor
salmoncausedmetoreflect
onthestateofourindustry.
ThetriptotheriverTweedwas
a dreamthatendedina nightmare.I was
fishinginlowwaterconditionsand,asit
turnedout,myonlychanceofa fish was
ruinedbymyfumbledcasting.
ExaminingwhatwentwrongtheexpertI
wasfishingwithpointedoutsomeproblems
withmyline-and-rodcombination.Later
thatdayI wentontotheinternettosearch
fora replacementline.Mysearchstopped
abruptlywhen,usinganappthatmatched
speylinestomychosenrodmanufacturer,
I cametothelaststepofa rathercomplex
processthatpresentedmewiththefinal
choice:‘expert’or‘novice’?I couldn’thelp
thinkinghowtheword‘expert’wassoeasily
attached,andwhattheimplications are
whenappliedtoourindustry.
Allgamekeeperswillhavebeenfollowing
therecentattacksonourbusinessbyself-
proclaimed‘wildlifeexperts’.Amongthem,
mediapresentershavetheperfectplatform
tolaunchanymannerofpropaganda
dressedupasan‘expertview’.Thepublic
seemstohavesomesympathyforthe
themedattacksonshootingandtheland
managementthathelpsdeliverit.These
expertshavealltheanswers—ordothey?
Whatisit theyareactuallyexpertabout?
Dotheyknowthecomplexsetof
circumstancesthathelpdeliverbiodiversity
onmypatch?Aretheyexpertsonevery
managementtechniqueI deploy?No,would
bemyguess.I donotspeakthelanguage
ofsomeoneeducatedatuniversity;myknowledgeofLatinisscant,butisit
important?DoI havethetimetostudy
somerareandunusualfloraand fauna
oftheGalapagosIslands?
No,butI feelI’manexpertinmyown
fieldandyes,that’sselfproclaimed.
TheproblemisI havenoideahow
toprojectmyexpertisetothepublic.
I’munequippedtobeseenbysomeas
an expert, especially when I have nohaveburningdesirestolearnmoreabout
thehabitatsI workin.Thecomplexity
ofa moorlandhabitatiseclipsedbythe
challengesandissuesinthelowland
environment—thisI havelearned on
mygamekeepingjourney.
Wehavebecomeexpertsatproducing
gamebutwearestillunderattack.Our
argumentsneedtobestrengthenedand
ourmanagersneedtobeexpertsinevery
aspectoftheecosystem we all work in.Rebuffed
Howwegettothisisanothermatter.
I havebeenrebuffedmorethanoncefor
airingmyviews.I canunderstandthatthe
financialconstraintsondeliveringa scheme
sobroadandradicalcouldhavedamaging
impactsonsome,butthisshouldnot
becomea reasonforit nottohappen.Time
isa greatconstraintandmanywouldfeel
it’simpossibletofitinfurtherknowledge
gathering,buteventhesmallestamount
ofuptakewouldmakea hugedifference.
Perhapsif wewereseenasthe‘experts’
media-basedattackswouldfallonstony
groundandthepublicand politicians would
seekourexpertviews.
Withallthatsaid,I mademychoice
asan‘expert’anda newfishinglineduly
arrived.Nowfortheopportunitytosee
if thisresearchwilldeliverthedesired
results — or will I need to think again?mechanism,exceptmyowninterest,
togainfurthereducation.WhenI worked
intheuplandsI hada visionthatoneday
a centreforexcellencecouldbecreated,
toprovideanopportunitytoengagewith
expertsfroma vastarrayoflike-minded
organisationstoshareandabsorbnewand
differingperspectivesandknowledge.
It wouldgivea chancetolearnabout
detailedpartsofourownestatethatis
hiddenfromourdailyradar—ferns,for
instance,ormoths,orotherinvertebrate
life.Equally,membersof,say,Natural
Englandcouldhavebeengivena detailed
lectureandbepersuadedtotake part in
controlledheatherburning.
However,myaspirationsforhigher
educationhaveneverbeenrealised.Thoughallthismightalreadyexistinourcolleges
andscientificorganisations,noneofit
cantodeliverwhatisreallyneeded.We
needtobeequipped,oneandall,withthe
knowledgetoconvincethegeneralpublic
andsomepoliticiansthat the countryside
issafeinourhands.
TheattacksbyexpertsthatI read
somuchabouthavenorespectforour
experience. As an expert in my field IChecking a tunnel trap; snaring is one of the many aspects of Alan’s job in which he is the expert14 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
Weareunderattackfromso-called‘experts’tellinguswhyoursportis wrong. It’s time we started to fight back by selling our own expertiseAlanEdwardsis ConservationManageratBywell,a PurdeygoldawardestateinNorthumberlandGamekeeper“Managers need to be experts in everyaspect of the ecosystem we work in”