Adopt a Gamekeeper

[hunterswind]

Gamekeepers need help, living a lonely life away from civilisation and now a persecuted species they need help but if you get to know one of these strange angry people they can give you such a great insight to the real countryside. i.e. where to see Black Grouse or maybe where the Otters live.

Anyone here ever adopted a keeper ??? or would like to ??

Andy

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by hunterswind

Gamekeepers need help, living a lonely life away from civilisation and now a persecuted species they need help but if you get to know one of these strange angry people they can give you such a great insight to the real countryside. i.e. where to see Black Grouse or maybe where the Otters live.

Anyone here ever adopted a keeper ??? or would like to ??

Andy

I've only ever met three (as far as I know). One was a really nice bloke, helpful, informative and knowledgeable. The other two I'm afraid I was less impressed with - one made a habit of destroying Hen Harrier nests on a moor I knew in mid-Wales and the other won't tolerate any raptor on "his" land. I'm sure the best are very good, but it seems as if there's still some bad eggs in the profession.

[hunterswind]

Most Keepers now do look after high profile raptors as they dont realy do so much damage I saw 2 Red Kites the other day Nos on wingtags 19 and 21

[snowdrop]

Hill shepherds get lonely too. I met one years ago, what a mine of information. Once he started to talk there was no stopping him. I could have listened all day but for the family retracing their steps to look for me. I often think of him and the wisdom he passed on to me.

[hunterswind]

where did you find a hill shepheard ?? they are realy rare. Did you manage to get a photo ??

[ron1863]

I've only known two Gamekeepers and believe me, no one would ever want to adopt them - two of the most cheeky, surly, unsociable men I have ever met.

[eeyore]

I've got one - on the estate where our workshop is in the wiltshire downs - hes the fairly common variant keeperus quadbikus easily identified by their cenataur like appearance with a red metallic lower body and wheels instead of lower limbs.

It is a benighn symbiotic relationship where he keeps us supplied with venison, pheasant and the occasional hare in return for errudite conversation , and reassurance that not everyone in the conservation movement regards keepers as a pest species best exterminated

[coasty]

As I put in one of my first posts to the forum one of the most influential people in my love of nature was the gamekeeper on the estate next to my boarding school,

I do accept that so many now are in a different mould to the old school. But that is no different to in many walks of life. The guy I knew had an uncanny understanding of nature.

I think people need to understand that being a gamekeeper is a job. A physically hard and demanding job. They fall into the same bracket as riverkeepers they are constantly battling with poachers and trespassers. and an increasingly large number of people who have no idea on how to behave in the countryside.

Andy

[snowdrop]

I met him up a Welsh mountain, hunterswind. LoL... No pic, sorry.
He had just separated the lambs from the ewes and the lambs were, to say the least, not happy. What a racket, ewes calling to lambs and vica versa.
He was a quietly spoken man with kindly eyes and a wealth of wisdom. I still remember him and his beautiful dog.

[kent marshman]

Originally Posted by ron1863

I've only known two Gamekeepers and believe me, no one would ever want to adopt them - two of the most cheeky, surly, unsociable men I have ever met.

hi everyone im a chippy but also a part time gamekeeper & upland deer stalker and im the most socialble person you would ever meet, you shouldnt tar people with the same brush, must admit i can be very cheeky lol

[ChrisJB]

I've met good and bad. One I'm sure slashed my tyres once because I dared to spend a lot of time walking/birdwatching on a local heather moor (he had a reputation for raptor persecution). I park further away now and have a longer walk!

Regards, Chris

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by kent marshman

hi everyone im a chippy but also a part time gamekeeper & upland deer stalker and im the most socialble person you would ever meet, you shouldnt tar people with the same brush, must admit i can be very cheeky lol

Sorry if I gave the impression that I didn't like Gamekeepers, it's just that the two I have met were not the most sociable of people. I am pretty sure that there are lots of nice Gamekeepers around.
I do realise that they have a difficult job to do, especially with poachers, and as I live in a small village in the countryside perhaps the Gamekeepers were tarring all the locals with the same brush.