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The Life of a Gamekeeper - Jeff Handy
On the 24th November 2010 the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society had a very interesting talk by Jeff Handy on his life as a gamekeeper. Jeff is currently the keeper on the Tory Hill estate and came clad in the traditional Tory Hill tweed, which would have been worn by everyone from the estate on shooting days and when they visited other shoots.
Jeff told us how his interest in wildlife had developed as a child, around Sevenoaks, and he was taken under the wing of his local gamekeeper so that he could keep an eye on him. He started his career as a gamekeeper on Little Sharsted Farm for the Neaves family where after a couple of years he began to hatch and rear his own birds. He eventually moved on and after a year on an estate near Folkestone he was offered the gamekeepers position on the Tory Hill Estate.
He explained that during his years at Tory Hill his gamekeeping role changed and when John Leigh Pemberton took over the management of the estate, they stopped releasing birds and managed the wild bird population. He also told us that he now plays an active role In the National Gamekeepers Association and various steering committees.
Jeff explained how nowadays gamekeepers played are more involved in conservation and saw his role as maintaining a balance within the countryside. He also said that without the money bought into conservation by shooting, wild-life habitats on many estates would go unmanaged and disappear.
He also told us that he is also worried about the number of badgers in the country today and blamed them for the demise of the hedgehog. He said that at a time when badgers were at a historic high, they were given a level of protection as great as many endangered species.
It was a very interesting evening and we felt that we had all learned more about the job of a gamekeeper and the way in which we help to shape the countryside around us.
Neil Anderson
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