Pyjama drama!
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it, says Robin Scott of his lockdown adventures
Living on a farm has disadvantages but this COVID-19 lockdown fiasco has made me realise just how lucky I am. Never again will I moan about lousy broadband connections, non-existent public transport or bin collections at the end of the lane. Minor gripes like this pale to insignificance alongside the issues people living in towns and cities have had to endure these past months.
I can only guess at the frustration felt by fellow shooters at not being able to get out with the gun. If I am honest, the lockdown has made little difference to day-to-day life here. We’ve lived off the contents of the freezer more than we did before and the only break in routine has been my Friday night trip to the local pub. Of course, I’ve missed the beer and the banter and I wonder if it will ever open again. I suppose the biggest bugbear has been the cancellation of all my salmon fishing trips and the uncertainty over the other summer bookings in Scotland. Travel restrictions and the shutdown of holiday accommodation threaten to put the kibosh on things for the rest of the year. At least the fishery owners have, so far, refunded monies or rolled the bookings over to next season. But God help us all if this ‘bug’ is still causing problems in 2021.
Free time
As for shooting, I have been out with the gun and rifle more than I ever did before the ‘stay athome’ rule started. Carrying a gun has filled in time freed up by not going into town for supplies or helping out with routine maintenance around the place. And the upshot to having had all this extra time has been a better than usual tally of carrion crows. I’m the greenest of amateurs when it comes to ‘gamekeeping’ but I learn from my mistakes and one is not to bang away with a gun anywhere near a ladder trap. I soon discovered crows won’t tolerate disturbance of any kind. Even walking close to a trap during the day is enough to make birds extra wary, or even frighten them away altogether.
Last year I put the trap a little too near the farm road and in view of passing people and traffic. As a result the crow catch was low. My fault. This time I’ve managed to place the cage in the corner of a field shielded by a thick hedge. Not only is it out of sight but it’s also smack bang under a busy flightline from the birds’ roost to a neighbouring farm’s pig yard. A local keeper kindly got me up and running with four decoy birds and it’s been catching crows steadily ever since.
It would be nice to think we could trap every carrion in the vicinity but that will never happen. The best we can hope for is to put a decent dent in their number so that we improve the odds of our nesting lapwing and curlew bringing off young. The way I look at it, every carrion killed is an egg saver. If the better chick count for lapwing here this season is even partly down to crow control, then the effort hasn’t been in vain.
Needs must
Another reason for taking the gun out more regularly has been necessity: to bag food for the trap’s inmates. Feral pigeon messing up the barn have taken a fair hit for a change, woodpigeon and rabbits, too. In
any ‘normal’ year, much of the meat needed to keep the crows coming and contented is supplemented by road kill but with no cars on the road because of lockdown this free and useful food source has been in short supply. Even those crows that normally scratch a decent living from road accidents have had to find a different diner.
As well as shooting carrions from a hide, I’ve been popping them off from the bedroom. Great fun and successful, too. In three weeks the .17 has accounted for 34. The method has been simple: last thing at night I put a pigeon carcass or hens’ eggs 60 yards away on a patch of grass at the top of the yard, leaving the bedroom window open before going to bed. Soon after sun up the alarm goes off – a loud cawing as a crow circles breakfast below, then swoops on it. That’s the easy bit. The real challenge comes next. To avoid being seen I have to slide out of bed then crawl across the floor to reach the unloaded rifle propped against a chair to the left of the gable end window. The rifle has then to be raised slowly and carefully until it rests on the corner of the window ledge. Little, if any, muzzle must show beyond the sill because even the slightest movement can be spotted in an instant.
I messed up the first couple of times but it got easier through having everything in place when the alarm sounded. That said, crows seem to have an in-built sixth sense where danger’s concerned and take flight even when you think you haven’t been seen. And when it comes to self-preservation, magpies are even sharper than the sharpest of carrions. Shooting crows from the bedroom might be fun and productive but it has two drawbacks: the first is having to pull on a dressing gown and slippers to retrieve a dead bird, so it doesn’t frighten others away; the second is sleep deprivation. Three weeks on pyjama patrol leaves you absolutely knackered. Take my word for it.
“I have to slide out of bed then crawl across the floor”
Sporting Gun: So much has happened over the past few months, yet in many respects the country has been in a state of limbo. How has that affected gamekeepers and gamekeeping?
Liam Bell: The timing of this outbreak and the fact that working outdoors has still been possible, albeit with restrictions, has meant that, fortunately, many gamekeepers have been carrying out work as usual for this time of year. Much conservation work happens now, and that has continued. As with any sector, delays have occurred but the overall impression is that gamekeeping has been one of the lucky professions. The uncertainty around the start of the season is, of course, a concern for many.
Could you outline some of the issues gamekeepers have faced?
Without stating the obvious, this is an unprecedented time and like all of us, making sure our families and friends are safe and well will, I’m sure, have been at the forefront of people’s minds. Initially there was uncertainty around predator control and a few issues with firearms use, which have eased. Uncertainty around the length of the outbreak, restrictions to working arrangements and the forthcoming shooting season have no doubt been the issues members have been discussing with the NGO team.
How has the NGO supported gamekeepers and what actions has it taken over this difficult time?
The office has been open throughout lockdown thanks to our dedicated team of NGO staff and our regional teams have at times been inundated with calls from members seeking advice on a variety of issues. We have helped clarify the use of firearms by some police forces, put together YouTube videos covering various aspects of gamekeeping during lockdown and, as ever, we have spent time helping to push for better wildlife licensing in England.
Have many gamekeepers been furloughed?
There are about 5,000 full-time gamekeepers and a similar number of parttime keepers across England and Wales. We don’t have any specific numbers for those furloughed.
Have many lost their jobs?
We hope the impact is low but we don’t have any precise statistics.
Has anything changed in gamekeeping and how gamekeepers go about their work since lockdown measures have been eased? If so, what?
Social distancing will, of course, have had an impact on working arrangements but often keepers work in small teams. Given the situation in some sectors, and being
able to work outdoors, has fortunately meant there have been some changes, but nothing too drastic. What we have found is the sense of everyone coming together. The office has been hugely busy with calls and looking to others in the sector for support and reassurance.
How has wildlife been affected? Have predators – foxes, corvids, for example – flourished while others, such as groundnesting birds, suffered?
This would only be anecdotal evidence and we don’t have specific statistics. Predator control initially seemed like a grey area, but after going through the government guidance it was clear that people were able to continue. The bigger issue for predator control is the licensing problems caused this will have been a lonely and worrying time for many. The support network within the NGO and its members has been heartening.
Has any particular type of shoot been more affected by the coronavirus crisis?
It has very much been a mixture of all types, and dependent on individual circumstances.
How do you think the coming season will play out? In fact, do you think many shoots will have a coming season or will some shoots fold?
Undoubtedly, there will be an impact. Not just for people directly employed by shooting, but those who benefit in other ways such as hotels and pubs. It’s still too
Do you have any confidence that things will change if Natural England continues to administer the licences?
Natural England doesn’t have a great track record for handling wildlife licensing in an effective way. There has been a catalogue of errors going on for years. We’re calling on Defra to take control as we don’t have any confidence that things will change.
Do you think they will or do you think the government is considering bringing them back ‘in-house’?
They need to. We are working across a variety of fronts to push for this to happen.
Have you spoken to Marian Spain (Natural England chief executive) or George Eustice (Environment Secretary) about this?
We sent a letter direct to George Eustice and are in close contact with senior civil servants in Defra.
2020 has been named ‘Year of the Gamekeeper’. How optimistic are you, or otherwise, about the future of the occupation?