It’s not all fun and games

Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group

Gamekeepers have a great life don’t they? Well sometimes it’s harrowing and some tasks are beyond the comprehension of many.

This is a ewe that got rigged (unable to get to its feet) in upper Wensleydale yesterday. Still alive she was surrounded by ravens. Within minutes the living sheep was unable to fend off the ravens and she endured losing her eyes, tongue, was partially evicerated and was still alive this morning when the gamekeeper humanely despatched her.

Ravens are stunning birds and protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act ‘81. Nobody really knows the true number of ravens in the U.K. but estimates say around 7,000 pairs. Citizen science or anecdotal evidence if you don’t choose to believe it, would suggest this estimate is significantly way under the true number. Ravens have a growing presence in our uplands and are visible all year round every day here in the Dales.

In spring their numbers are augmented by non-breeding individuals. Flocks of twenty or more come to predate ground nesting birds working in teams to distract adult waders from their nests or chicks allowing others to hoover up the bounty.

Our keepers know that raven predation is having localised impacts but licenses to control ravens at key times are virtually impossible to procure. This poor ewe is but one casualty in a wider theatre of predation by ravens. Who could do what keepers have to do from time to time?