Gamekeeper

Gamekeeper

: "For the comic book series, see Guy Ritchie's Gamekeeper."

A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who looks after an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.

Typically, a gamekeeper is employed by a landowner, and often in the UK by a country estate, to prevent poaching, to rear and release game birds such as pheasants and grouse, to control predators such as foxes, to manage habitats to suit game, and to monitor the health of the game.

The United Kingdom

Today, some five thousand full-time gamekeepers are employed in the UK, compared to as many as 10,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. [ [http://www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk/about-gamekeeping National Gamekeeper's Organisation - About gamekeeping] ] In addition, there are many people who spend their leisure time and money rearing game and maintaining habitats on their own small shoots. There are several variations in gamekeeping:
*Lowland keepers: rearing pheasant and partridge and managing lowland habitats.
*Moorland keepers: managing moorland for grouse in upland areas.
*Stalkers: keepers who specialise in Deer stalking, taking people to "stalk" deer species, mainly in the uplands of Scotland.
*Gillies/River Keepers: keepers who manage rivers such as the Spey River for trout and salmon.

The League Against Cruel Sports estimates some 12,300 wild mammals and birds are killed on UK shooting estates every day and sees gamekeepers as playing a key role in the destruction of wildlife. [ [http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1594&ArticleID=1660 League Against Cruel Sports - Consequences of the Shoot] ] On the other hand, the shooting industry says that gamekeepers are vital wildlife conservation workers in the countryside. [ [http://www.basc.org.uk/content/thegamekeeperprofessional BASC - The Gamekeeper: Professional Countryside Manager] ] The National Gamekeeper's Organisation (NGO) claims that nine times as much of the British countryside is looked after by gamekeepers as is in nature reserves and National Parks. [ [http://www.gamekeeperstrust.org.uk/ National Gamekeepers' Organisation Charitable Trust] ]

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has criticised the poisoning of birds of prey on some shooting estates. This is probably the most controversial of all topics surrounding the gamekeeper. However, this is now much rarer than in its heyday, due to better knowledge of the ecology of birds of prey, and cases are generally condemned by the shooting community. [ [http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/birdsofprey/threatened.asp RSPB - Which birds are threatened] ]

cottish Gamekeepers Association

In 1997, as a result of months of adverse media criticism of gamekeepers, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) was formed. The goal of this organization is to form a professional group which will help to promote the work gamekeepers do and to develop training in the area of law and best practices in the field of game management. [ [http://www.scottishgamekeepers.co.uk/ Scottish Gamekeepers] ]

Training

Some colleges in the UK now offer courses in gamekeeping, up to and including diploma level. One of these is the Northern School of Game and Wildlife at Newton Rigg in Cumbria. [ [http://www.gamekeeping.org.uk School of Game and Wildlife at Newton Rigg College] ]

Gamekeepers in fiction

* Alec Scudder in "Maurice" by E. M. Forster
* Mellors in "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D. H. Lawrence
* Rubeus Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" series
* Tom Redruth in "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
* Phillip White in "Lark Rise to Candleford"
* Several characters past and present in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers"
* Joseph in "Hautot and His Son" by Guy de Maupassant

References

External links

* [http://www.basc.org.uk/content/thegamekeeperprofessional Gamekeeping as a career - BASC]
* [http://www.ngo.org.uk National Gamekeeper's Association]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gamekeeper — Game keep er (g[=a]m k[=e]p [ e]r), n. One who has the care of game, especially in a park or preserve. Blackstone. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gamekeeper — 1660s, from GAME (Cf. game) (n.) in the animal sense + agent noun from KEEP (Cf. keep) (v.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • gamekeeper — ► NOUN ▪ a person employed to breed and protect game for a large estate …   English terms dictionary

  • gamekeeper — [gām′kēp΄ər] n. a person employed to breed and take care of game birds and animals on private estates, game preserves, etc …   English World dictionary

  • gamekeeper — UK [ˈɡeɪmˌkiːpə(r)] / US [ˈɡeɪmˌkɪpər] noun [countable] Word forms gamekeeper : singular gamekeeper plural gamekeepers someone whose job is to look after the wild animals on a piece of private land and to stop anyone from hunting them without… …   English dictionary

  • gamekeeper — [[t]ge͟ɪmkiːpə(r)[/t]] gamekeepers N COUNT A gamekeeper is a person who takes care of the wild animals or birds that are kept on someone s land for hunting …   English dictionary

  • gamekeeper — see an old poacher makes the best gamekeeper …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • Gamekeeper's thumb — (also known as skier s thumb or UCL tear) is a type of injury to the ulnar collateral ligament common among gamekeepers, especially Scottish fowl hunters. The hunter would carry home their game with a leather thong attached to their thumb draped… …   Wikipedia

  • gamekeeper — noun Date: 1659 a person in charge of the breeding and protection of game animals or birds on a private preserve …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • gamekeeper — gamekeeping, n. /gaym kee peuhr/, n. a person employed, as on an estate or game preserve, to prevent poaching and provide a natural environment conducive to the propagation of game, as by thinning brush, scattering food after a snowstorm, and the …   Universalium

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