There was a time when the vast majority of keepers and stalkers owed their career to an accident of birth. I remember reading something years ago stating that, much like…
David Whitby
How we ensure shooting’s future
Nearly half a million people arrived by train, car and coach. Fishermen, falconers, ferreters, wildfowlers, game Shots, gillies and, of course, people who hunted turned out in 2002 to oppose…
How Guns can earn a gamekeeper’s respect
Over the years I have read a number of articles on the topic of what constitutes a good beater, a good shoot and a good picker-up. But I don’t recall…
What makes a game bird fly well on shoot days?
What makes our game birds fly well one day only to perform poorly the next? No one wants low birds that present little challenge and result in an inedible carcass along with a feeling of ‘really,…
The gamekeeper’s constant fight against game bird disease
Travel back far enough and the major components you’d find in a keeper’s arsenal were gin traps, snares and a bottle of strychnine. Over time the gins were replaced by fen traps, strychnine removed altogether, and snares…
How to hand rear injured or orphaned wildlife properly
What would you do if you saw an injured squirrel or orphaned deer in trouble on land near you? David Whitby examines the ethics behind hand rearing wildlife back to…
Keeper’s tip is a personal decision
Ray Leake from Adelaide writes: Having recently spent a mostly enjoyable 10 days’ shooting in the UK, which I do every year, I am prompted to add my thoughts to the increasing number of comments…
Deer population: How do we control numbers across the UK?
We are currently in the grips of what is known as an “exponential deer population increase”. To put it another way, we’re in a situation where many areas have damaging…
Game birds: What happens to the 35,000,000 released yearly?
When it comes to game birds, for many shoots around the UK, last season was one of mixed results, much influenced by the exceptional weather we experienced or, in many…
Whatever happened to the British countryside?
Years ago, if you went from Walsall towards Litchfield on the No.6 bus, crossed the Shire Oak traffic lights and carried on for a couple of miles, you would come…
“Birds are no longer enough for the RSPB”
Three cheers for Sir Ian Botham for having the balls to take on the RSPB, a charity rightly accused of “forgetting the birds”. Founded in 1889 as the ‘Plumage League’ by ladies with concerns about the…