Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Open Day
Aiming high for quality game
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and Buccleuch Sporting collaborated on 11 June 2009 to demonstrate best practice pheasant and re-leg partridge management. Rab Clark, Drumlanrig’s headkeeper led an audience of 30 enthusiastic professional and amateur game managers around the estate. The tour which considered all aspects of game rearing and presentation was illustrated throughout with talks by Hugo Straker and Ian McCall of the GWCT.
The main aim of the day was to explain how to move a shoot from a basic level of competence to one where the both the quality of the sport, the economics and the conservation benefits really stacked up. As well as taking great care with sourcing and rearing high quality stock, Bucceluch Sporting have realised the potential of the landscape around Drumlanrig Castle. Rab Clark’s team have carefully managed the woodland, planned and maintained good un-harvested (game) crops and invested in predator control, both legal lethal control and by managing aspects of the gamebird release process.
Adam Smith, an attendee, said “The tremendous effort that has gone into the sporting management at Drumlanrig will surely produce great sport and improve the conservation value of both woodland and moorland on the Estate.”
This full day’s business was made even better thanks to the administration of tea, coffee and biscuits from Dorothy Hill and her team!
Photocaption: Rab Clark and Hugo Straker explain pheasant habitat management back | 
