Community spirit

For too long the voice of the upland gamekeeper has gone unheard. Now, Regional Moorland Groups are providing them with a platform

- JACK KNOTT

Those undertaking land management for shooting might best be described as the ever-present but silent majority in the conservation sector. Shooting ploughs nearly £250m into conservation projects annually, be it planting and managing woodland, copses or hedgerows, growing cover crops or improving wetlands and ponds.

The workforce – gamekeepers and land managers – undertake their work diligently and behind the scenes. Unlike their charitable, land-managing counterparts, their work is funded privately. Donations and fundraisers are unrequired and so is the subsequent press coverage needed by the third sector.

Unfortunately, increased lobbying by those who wish to see grouse shooting restricted has left gamekeepers in the lurch, with some practices dragged into the political arena by those who think they can manage the land in a better and more cost-efficient manner. Prescribed burning and predator control are obvious and well-versed examples. The multitude of benefits is being ignored.

The subsequent political interest, particularly virulent in Scotland, has stirred those on the ground into action. Whereas, previously, few estates or gamekeepers were willing to publicise their work openly, worries for their own future have forced them to stand up together and be counted, showcasing the importance of their work and placating any public concerns. No longer willing to have their future decided for them, they created the Regional Moorland Groups. These now provide a platform for the hitherto unheard voice of upland gamekeepers, a vehicle in which they can go toe-to-toe with conservation bodies.