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Moors the merrier as Yorkshire estate gamekeeper takes national award
A GAMEKEEPER on a North Yorkshire grouse moor who made a career change to fulfil a lifelong ambition has won a national title.
George Thompson, 52, of Pickering, has been named Gamekeeper of the Year after beating competitors from around the country.
Mr Thompson has spent the last 17 years nurturing the heather moorland of the 7,000 acre Spaunton Estate on the North York Moors.
After years of working as a scaffolder, he fulfilled his ambition to become a gamekeeper in 1991, and was promoted to head moorland keeper at Spaunton in 1999.
One of the judges, Freddie de Lisle said: "George has struck a balance between the environmental, agricultural and human demands on the moor through many years of hard work combined with a high level of technical skills. He is a credit to the gamekeeping profession."
Mr Thompson is responsible for the reclamation of 2,000 acres of land dominated by toxic bracken back into heather moorland – a habitat rarer than rainforest and under serious threat globally.
He motivated more than 20 local students to physically help with the project. By helping farmers to vaccinate their sheep, he has seen a dramatic drop from 27 per cent to three per cent in the lethal disease Louping Ill, which is spread by ticks and affects sheep and grouse.
The Spaunton Estate is in a wildlife enhancement scheme and Mr Thompson has created wetland features on drier parts of the moor to benefit wading birds such as Curlew, Lapwing and Snipe.
Liaising with the South Cleveland Bird Ringing Group, he protects numerous merlin nesting on the moor, ensuring that Britain's smallest bird of prey thrives. Ring ouzel and golden plover are just two other important birds that make their home on the estate.
Mr Thompson has also improved tracks across the moor, making them easier to use by walkers and cyclists. His work includes the reduction of ticks, which can bite humans and transmit Lyme disease.
As well as being a dedicated grouse keeper, he has many other interests including a passion for birds of prey. He has trained and flown hawks and falcons and is a member of the British Falconry Club.
The award is organised by Farmers Weekly and the Country Landowners Association Game Fair, where Mr Thompson was presented with his 400 prize money.
His success comes at a time when the drive to safeguard the heather moorland of the North York Moors is at an all time peak, with 2,600 acres coming back into management for the first time in at least 50 years.
A total of 38,000 acres is set to benefit from improvement plans such as those at Spaunton, and another six to eight gamekeeper posts are being created.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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