page_title: Gamekeepers in the United Kingdom
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Gamekeepers in the United Kingdom / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Controlled Heather Burning on a en:Derbyshire en:Grouse Moor,
context_page_description: A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting and stalking, or fish for angling, and who manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish, and other wildlife in general.
context_section_description: Typically, a gamekeeper is employed by a landowner or by a country estate, to prevent poaching, to rear and release game birds such as common pheasants and French partridge, eradicate pests, encourage and manage wild red grouse, and to control predators such as weasels, to manage habitats to suit game, and to monitor the health of the game. Today, some three thousand full-time gamekeepers are employed in the UK, compared to as many as 25,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. 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:
  Stalkers: keepers who specialise in the stealthy pursuit of deer, mainly in the uplands of Scotland.
  Lowland keepers: rearing pheasant and partridge and managing lowland habitats.
  Upland keepers: managing moorland for grouse in upland areas.
  Gillie/river keepers: keepers who manage rivers such as the River Spey for trout and salmon.
  Gamekeepers and country sports enthusiasts hold that gamekeeping is an essential part of countryside conservation. Two thirds of the UK rural landmass is managed for shooting. The shooting industry creates £1.6 billion. £250 million is spent on conservation as a result of shooting.
caption: Controlled burning of heather, one of the countryside management duties of gamekeepers
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