18th July 2016
STANDING in the Country Pursuits Arena of the Great Yorkshire Show – and head to toe in tweed – was a charmingly nervous gamekeeper, writes Liv Hammond in The Yorkshire Times. (Darren Clare photo)
He was here to inform us of the environmental benefits of grouse shooting and heather burning.
In a presentation called ‘A year in the Life of a Grouse Moor’, we were taken on a journey from Autumn through until Spring; describing the largest expanse of heather moorland in the world, known as the North Yorkshire Moors.
This is the home to the Red Grouse- ‘low flying, agile and tasty’, according to the gamekeeper, and source of a lot of controversies, in terms of its shooting.
‘The landscape is rugged, but not wild’, he says. ‘It is managed, due to the burning of the heather from October to mid-April’.
Explaining how people assume heather burning is bad for the environment, apparently incorrectly, we learned that it creates a more diverse patchwork of fields, which allows many other plants and animals to thrive.
There are some areas of short, healthier heather which grouse and sheep can eat, dotted amongst areas of older, taller heather which shelters the grouse and is ideal for nesting.
We are told that the North Yorkshire Moors has ‘more visitors than Alton Towers and Blackpool combined’. I know where I’d rather visit- unless the North Yorkshire Moors has a £7 unlimited slushie refill deal? Didn’t think so.
Nevertheless, ‘many visitors come to the moors not knowing the hard work required to maintain them’.
However, this diligence seems to pay off, as ‘all of the species living on the moors are able to grow together.’
The gamekeeper explains that the moors do not work as well with a more ‘leave it be’ style of management, and that the ecology systems of the moors should be solely controlled by the gamekeepers themselves.
He describes his fellow gamekeepers as evolved, developed, educated, passionate, trained, devoted, and professional.
Blimey.
There were more adjectives but I couldn’t get them down fast enough.
It was apparent that this guy was extremely passionate about his work.
He asks us, ‘Why would I work all year round, in all conditions, checking traps and looking for footsteps in the snow? Why wouldn’t I? The grouse are there all year round, so why shouldn’t I be?’
Even the grouse would have a couple of days off, surely?
He then explains to us the benefits of heather burning.
Photo by Andrew from St Helens
‘It is an efficient way of preventing a wildfire in the summer’, he says. ‘When it is controlled and managed by the gamekeepers, it does much more good than harm to the landscape and its wildlife, and provides a diverse area which allows a variety of wildlife species to flourish in harmony’.
We are brought to the springtime – Red Grouse’s nesting time.
The gamekeeper describes it like a bedtime story- the Red Grouse ‘sends an invite to the other Red Grouse’, and tells them- ‘My home is a patchwork created by the heather burning, and what’s more, the gamekeeper will protect us like an older brother at school’. Deep.
In order to help the audience comprehend the chaotic rush of the shooting, children volunteers bearing flags charge down the hill like beaters, yelling and flapping in a frenzy.
Excitement is evident as the gamekeeper’s pace quickens.
The anticipation of the audience starts to build as he depicts the grouse settling in the heather, unaware of what will follow.
The tension is palpable. Something exciting is imminent.
Sure enough, an armed man emerges from behind a grassy mound to the left of the arena, and fires as though shooting a grouse.
Feathers fly from his gun and children squeal in delight. Horns wail, signalling the end of the shooting time.
The children, overjoyed to participate wait patiently for their medals and badges. Great stuff.
All in all, ‘A Year in the Life of a Grouse Moor’ gave me a great sense of the gamekeepers’ pride in their work and their moors.
Their care of the wildlife is something I never considered, and they do truly see the moor ecology as a cycle in which heather burning is a crucial element.
