Cricket St Thomas estate story
The Taylor family bought the Cricket St Thomas estate in the 1960s. They are among the original diversifiers, finding ways to make 1,000 acres in
The Taylor family bought the Cricket St Thomas estate in the 1960s. They are among the original diversifiers, finding ways to make 1,000 acres in
BASC tackles the big issues facing shooting and conservation at its first Southern Gamekeepers’ Conference, attended by keepers and shoot managers, at the Great Fulford
The last few years have been a nightmare for game farmers, with covid, bird flu, and massive hikes in costs. Despite all that, keen shooters
Keeping their birds alive and well is every gamekeeper’s priority – and the biggest threat to their pheasants, ducks and partridges is foxes. Thermal technology
youtu.be/6_6O-iaAOX4 Gamekeeper Steven Musk is one of the lucky ones. DEFRA granted him a licence to release birds near a Special Protection Zone. It’s one
youtu.be/gKhLYAhNaS8 by Deborah Hadfield Kill the foxes and the curlews will thrive. That’s the conclusion of gamekeepers at an Irish Grouse Conservatiom Trust project in
by Deborah Hadfield The Scottish government is considering the future use of snares. It has approached a range of fieldsports groups for their views. However,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F09b6SGDOR4 The flames and smoke from one lowland wildfire in Norfolk in July 2022 could be seen from miles away. The fire damaged 120 acres
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSxfDEdsmSY by Deborah Hadfield The shortage in game birds is pushing up the price of shooting and birds. Pheasant and partridge chicks may not be
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbx5CBOidk Paul Childerley is out to protect his ducks tonight. It’s been a big year for foxes and he has the latest thermal kit from
by Deborah Hadfield Bird flu is bad news for game farmers and shooters who face a dire season ahead. There were more than 100 recorded
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfV_B_Jy34Q Young pro stalker Ruby Lewis takes old hand Paul Childerley out after a roebuck. It lands Paul with a dilemma. For more from
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRJFscjd0eITony Lowry is a gamekeeper in Hampshire. His shoot gets the stone curlew as a summer visitor. It’s also a working arable farm. That’s bad news for the
youtu.be/twiXg9H6Xuk by Deborah Hadfield There are rumours that poult prices have bust through the £10 barrier and gone as high as £17 per poult. If
by Ian Coghill It is odd what triggers a train of thought. The origins of this are some of the language chosen for the BBC
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTCTThkq0scGeoff Garrod is a gamekeeping legend. The estate where he works in the East of England is famous thanks to his Keepers Diary DVD series,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0koIQQvX_M by Deborah Hadfield Is there a shake-up heading towards the world of wildlife counting? Since the 1980s, scientists have taken control of the job
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6TdqOuKcTA Animal welfare consultant Jim Barrington goes on a tour of hare poaching victims in the Eastern Counties of England. With poachers damaging crops and
Two Scottish gamekeepers and a gamekeeper’s wife talk to Charlie about the Revive conference in Perth in November 2021. They bravely went along and listened
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY0D0RdGxRA When Storm Awen blew through in November 2021, it took trees and powerlines with it. On the front line, with firecrews and the Army,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZkoPMUW1g What are white pheasants? They are just ordinary pheasants that are albino – but they serve two important purposes in the countryside. They help
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd06nxjxkeU Following a tough shooting season in 2020/21, gamekeepers, shoot owners, operators and sporting agents are taking bookings for 2021/22. Some of them are being
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ7H6sdawWk by Ben O’Rourke “If I were going to choose somewhere to radio track pine martens, I wouldn’t have chosen this,” says Craig Shuttleworth, who’s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2u7yZkaHXI “There’s a pair of grey partridges that like this particular feeder. Whether we shall see them or whether they’ll keep a low profile…” shrugs
youtu.be/Kck6o9YSg-Q It’s been more than 20 years since the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association took to the streets of Edinburgh for a protest. The march in 2000,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMHf83s9U54 by Ben O’Rourke In the 1970s, there were more than 20,000 capercaillie in the UK. “Now there might only be 1,000,” says Ian Coghill,
Out with a gun and a dog, gamekeeper Paul Childerley is keeping an eye on his ground while enjoying his shooting. It’s all the
Gamekeeper Paul Childerley finishes his rounds looking after pheasants and ducks, and then he takes time to carry out shoot management. Today, it is
Ben O’Rourke “We’ve learnt a lot through working with the GWCT about how we approach things, how I approach my work, planning it and
David Whitby manages a shooting estate in Sussex, looking after pheasants, partridges, deer – and he brings his work home with him. Living with him
Channel 4 News made a one-sided and bitter attack on moorland conservation in a news piece, fronted by its reporter Jane Dodge. Ben O’Rourke
News editor Ben O’Rourke talks to grouse moor owners about how they are reversing the post-war drainage of the UK’s moorland. He shows that Wild
Demand for pheasant poults has gone down, supply has gone down, prices have gone up a little: coming out of coronavirus lockdown could be
When Chris Packham criticises grouseshooting, the BBC reports what he says. In the absence of balance, we expose three fibs the anti grouseshooters like to
Followers of BBC celebrity Chris Packham are probably used to hearing stories of doom and gloom on Britain’s moors. This is not one of
From the beginning of April, wildfires rage across the UK’s uplands, burning hardest where there has been either poor management or rewilding. Just days into
One of the UK’s premier gamekeeping colleges is to shut. Newton Rigg in Cumbria is the only college with its own grousemoor. Askham Bryan College
Grouseshooter James Mawle is one of the most passionate grouse conservationists in the UK. He takes Ben O’Rourke for a walk around his ground
When newspapers reported the death of a peregrine, they copied and pasted the press release from animal rights activists. It had been shot, they said.
The RSPB wants to get a job as the nation’s gamekeeper. It looks like it wants to get rid of all the other gamekeepers,
Last week, activists hit a small family game farm in Kent. They struck in the middle of the night and released thousands of birds to
For around three months of the year, red deer are off the shooting menu. Well, that doesn’t mean that Scottish deerstalker Niall Rowantree can hang
Jason Doyle and his girlfriend Carly join the Shelton Abbey Shoot in Co Wicklow for the end-of-season keeper’s day, where the gamekeeper gets to thank
Paul Childerley is after squirrels. They are chewing up the water pipes in his pheasant pens, and this is the time of year they greys
Lyme disease leaves you at your wits’ end. For deerstalker Tim Pilbeam, who has been living with it for 20 years, he has given up
Out shooting driven partridges and pheasants? Gamekeeper Paul Childerley explains the importance of presenting birds, and why you should take care of birds on the
Paul Childerley shows what it takes to be a modern gamekeeper. He is working on his shoot in Bedfordshire, bringing on young birds and getting
It is early September and gamekeeper Paul Childerley will be shooting in a few weeks time. He takes delivery of a second tranche of partridges
It’s started. Gamekeeper Paul Childerley has taken delivery of his pheasants on the shoot in Bedfordshire. Now he has to be Pheasant Supernanny and keep
Paul Childerley becomes ‘The Childernator’. The working gamekeeper is protecting his cover crops from corvids and even doing good work as a goose scarer. Plus
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