| Re: Gamekeeping
I've worked with 'keepers, been beating on many shoots, big and small, corporate and rough and had some of the best days of my life amongst people who are passionate about the countryside and wildlife. One of my most abiding memories is standing quietly on a ride on the edge of a wood waiting for a drive to start. I was next to the 'keeper when a mixed flock of finches flew in from the game cover in the adjacent field and started feeding on his wheat on the feeding ride - there were around 200 assorted finches and seed-feeders such as yellow-hammers and tree sparrows. He turned to me with a smile on his face and said 'why are the do-gooders who don't like shooting never around at moments like this?'.
One thing that does present problems is that when 'do-gooders' resort to sabotaging legal traps (Larson traps, mink cage traps etc) then unfortunately a minority of keepers end up resorting to illegal poisoning. On our own farm we do use larson traps - we have crop damage from corvids as well as problems with new born lambs being attacked - and we also have a fantastic range of birds, including ground nesters.  |