The landscape of Britain is unique in the splendour of its diversity, from mountain and heather moors to wooded lowlands and coastal marshes, home to a vast array of wildlife. Two-thirds of all rural land in the UK is keepered and the natural beauty of the countryside is maintained by shooting estates spending more than £250m annually on conservation. This massive yearly expenditure is of incalculable benefit to the environment and provides safe habitat, food, shelter, roosting and nesting sites to a multitude of little farm and woodland songbirds. The ground nesters of heath, fen and marshes and the summer visitors who flock to nest and rear their young free from predation in a haven provided by the four million acres of UK grouse moors. The curlews, snipe, lapwings, golden plover, skylarks, meadow pipits, merlins, dunlins, redshanks and dotterels, who break the long silence of winter with their spring melody. Our declining population of black grouse and the remaining handful of endangered capercaille, struggling to survive in the forests of Deeside and Strathspey.
We have generations of gamekeepers to thank for protecting the vulnerable from being drowned in a tidal wave of adaptive predators – among them corvids, foxes, stoats and weasels. Despite the efforts of animal rights activists masquerading as conservationists and limitations on species control, it is the commitment of keepers that enables the rest of us to enjoy the poetry of our green and pleasant land. Where foxes are concerned, however, no keeper could do the job without his terrier.
Esta historia es de la edición July 22, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 22, 2020 de Shooting Times & Country.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside