News

LANCASHIRE GAMEKEEPERS: GUARDIANS OF OUR MOORS

19th May 2000

On Bank Holiday Monday, 29th of May, The Duke of Westminster, the owner of Abbeystead Estate, will launch the new Bowland Forest Foods Company dedicated to marketing meat products from the Bowland Area. Initially the concentration of efforts will be on beef and lamb, but in the future there is potential for other products such as grouse. Abbeystead Estate is a key member of the Moorland Association, and its moorland gamekeepers, Ian Savage and Andy Ryder, will be offering members of the public tractor and trailer trips up on to the moor for a talk on “A Year in the Life of a Moorland Keeper.”

Red grouse are a wild, indigenous bird that live on carefully managed upland heather moorland areas. The keepers will explain the traditional techniques they use to maintain this heather which would otherwise be lost to overgrazing, bracken and afforestation. In addition, they will explain the vital role of predator control, that allows the grouse and many other vulnerable upland ground nesting birds, to raise their young.

Said Carl Hawke, RSPB’s North West Officer: “We have been invited to join the keepers on the day to give a joint talk. The RSPB widely recognises that the work that moorland keepers carry out is important to a whole range of upland birds. Upland gamekeepers are experts in their field when it comes to understanding the land and the wildlife it supports, and I expect the talk to be stimulating and very educational.”

Said John Hickling English Nature’s Conservation Officer for Lancashire: “English Nature widely supports the work of moorland owners and their keepers for the management of these internationally important habitats. We enjoy a good working relationship on the ground and recognise what good work The Moorland Association is doing to halt the loss of heather throughout England and Wales. I will be available on the day helping to explain some of the detail of moorland management.”