On average, an upland gamekeeper is assaulted every 12 days.
The shocking statistic has been revealed in previously unreported figures from The Grouse Moor Gamekeeper in England in the Twenty-First Century report, commissioned by the Regional Moorland Groups and National Gamekeepers’ Organisation.
In addition to physical assaults, over 1,000 separate threats were made to gamekeepers, while over 1,500 instances of insults were recorded.
These attacks on gamekeepers have had knock-on effects. 94 keepers suffered a financial loss over the year-long study period, while 33 have experienced mental health issues.
The majority of keepers affected both by attacks and also by subsequent problems were based in the Peak District.
Nor is it just direct attacks that are facing gamekeepers. Wildlife and property crime has also negatively impacted keepers and their families, with over 268 incidents of wildlife poaching, 68 of farm animal poaching, and 198 of livestock worrying taking place over the 12-month period. On average, incidents of damage to estate property happened almost twice a day.
Such abuse is, of course, vile. Gamekeepers’ Welfare Trust (GWT) Chief Executive, Helen Benson, has branded it “totally unacceptable”, and rightly so.
Gamekeepers are vital guardians of our countryside, and frequently help members of the public, all while having to deal with people acting irresponsibly. In addition to their work and its associated conservation management, gamekeepers rescue walkers, give first aid, and help stranded drivers nearly daily. Keepers had to ask visitors to extinguish fires, which could cause catastrophic damage, more than 2,300 times in just one year. They also had to clear areas of litter on nearly 5,000 occasions in this time.
As Moorland Association chief executive, Andew Gilruth, puts it: “Imagine being assaulted for protecting wildlife, threatened for stopping wildfires and insulted for saving ground-nesting birds. That’s the daily reality for our moorland gamekeepers.”
He further points out: “Much of this hostility is being stirred up deliberately by organisations whose relentless rhetoric paints hardworking keepers as villains.”
Roger Seddon, Shooting Campaign Manager at the Countryside Alliance, stated:
“The frequent attacks that are being made on gamekeepers and the wider gamekeeping community are utterly reprehensible. Gamekeepers and their families deserve to be treated with just as much respect as anyone else.
“Gamekeepers perform a crucial role in conservation efforts as part of their job, and on top of that, they regularly both assist members of the public in need of aid, and also manage the irresponsible behaviour of others. The moors and their communities would suffer without them.
“The invaluable work of organisations such as the GWT and the NGO does much to help gamekeepers and their families, who have to face unique and trying challenges. But keepers’ lives would be made much easier if visitors to moorland areas act in a responsible and respectful manner.”