A group of activists called the Moorland Monitors has posted some video footage on social media showing disturbing gamekeeping activities at some pheasant rearing pens at Grimwith Reservoir in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The video footage (which can be viewed below) was reportedly filmed in June 2023 and shows a gamekeeper attending the rearing pens and removing what look like dead pheasants and then tossing them into the surrounding bracken and into the stream. This stream feeds directly into Yorkshire Water’s Grimwith Reservoir.
The Moorland Monitors say they reported the incident to the ‘authorities’ (I don’t know who that was or when the report was made) but that they hadn’t received a reply.
You can read more about this incident on the Moorland Monitors’ website (here) and the video footage posted on the Moorland Monitors’ twitter account can be viewed here:
Raptor Persecution UK 
But we are consistently told that these people are the guardians of the countryside.
Ha ha yes the guardians of the countryside!! And the protectors of the Curlew and Lapwing and other ‘ground nesting birds’!! Maybe Fieldsports Britain and Vinnie Jones will do a promotional video showing this type of real behaviour from gamekeepers!!! Care for the countryside and the nature that tries to live in it??…my f*****g arse!!
Guardians of their shooting interests and that’s it sorry but anyone who thinks differently is deluded and Yorkshire water must be nuts to expect these dinosaurs to behave in a civilised manner but nothing changes with these old boys acts it’s 2023 when will they wake up and smell the coffee ?
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Although the release pens of this estate are very close to the boundary of YWs land holding at Grimwith Reservoir they are in fact on land belonging to the estate. however that water course is the main feeder into the reservoir and hence somebody’s water supply. I’m hardly surprised by this but it should be reported to both YW, the YDNP and possibly DEFRA as an illegal disposal of carcases and do we know they are HPAI free, highly irresponsible to do this as well as probably illegal.
This estate is notorious for blocking access points that should be open as the land is of course Open Access under the CROW Act. I once had a conversation with a keeper here about a blocked access point ( before reporting it to the YDNPA), every other word used began with F, it was very intimidating but I still accessed the moor. Which then was all burnt very short because it is mainly used as a RLP shoot.
The intellect of these people (i.e. the Gamekeepers) is underwhelming.
Only just realised the enormaty of this foul practice … always been aware that grouse etc were reared just so toffee nosed rich idiots could take pot shots… as for the disgusting people who poison or in some way kill rapters- thats just inexcusable and sick..
Will follow this reporting in future …thankyou
Here’s a thing…
The countrysnide lobby continually mislead about the effects of predation, and claim the “need” to kill everything that eats another animal (usually under the pretence of “conservation”), yet here they are chucking out free grub! Maybe it might be best to have these carcasses sent to the old toxicology lab.
Moorland Monitors have said they reported it to the local authority responsible for enforcement. They also asked NE if the required licences were acquired to release pheasants and partridge in that area.
They said they haven’t received a response from either authority.
It is certainly within 500 m of an SSSI boundary, an SSSI that is part of the North Pennines SPA so NE SHould have acted.
Hey, its not on isnt that, they need to be reported to the Environment Agency, no excuse for this behaviour at all, dead birds will attract more flies and then stinking rotting maggot eaten carcases, shameful act, especially putting them into a beck upstream from the Reservoir, totally ignorant, .
Any keeper with a bit of sense would keep them for trap bait, and why are they dying ??,
probably too small a pen. I could see a live maggot on the film, at least the trout will enjoy them. Dickstick
One assumes there is a risk of the bird virus, assuming it can infect pheasants. Is that so?
Merely an ordinary day in the life of the army of dedicated “un-sung conservationists”, going about their selfless work to help the delicate upland ecosystems, the red-listed waders and the “little birds”, etc, etc…or just carrying on as normal, when there’s no idea anybody is watching!
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx.
Just beyond and above where the video was taken is a small crag that in the eighties and early nineties was occasionally used by stupid Peregrines, I say stupid because they never succeeded, like so many others on or adjacent to game management in the Dales.
So, will YW go the same way as UU? Are their shooters on YW board ? I guess that would make a difference to any decision to be made
The land where the footage was filmed is reported to be a privately-owned estate, not owned by Yorkshire Water. Nevertheless, I would imagine Yorkshire Water will be taking a close interest in the potential high risk to the reservoir water by the actions of this neighbouring gamekeeper and it may well help to focus Yorkshire Water’s view on gamebird shooting on its own land, which has been under review for some time.
See: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/media/e4nanvjf/yorkshire-water-positon-on-shooting-leases-on-our-land.pdf
So, will YW go the same way as UU? Are there shooters on YW board ? I guess that would make a difference to any decision to be made
Blatant disregard for the welfare of birds and wildlife, the environment and our water supply with peat and all sorts of contamination and chemicals being washed off the land. Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx. Yorkshire Water are already reviewing the leases of gamebird shooting on their own land and I hope this case is another nail in the coffin of shooting on their land as well as moorland in general
Very pleased to see that the TwitterXMusk footage has been posted to local Yorkshire newspapers. It is now up to them to inform their readership (customers of Yorkshire Water) of this contamination.
It is absolutely despicable how these poor birds are treated so cruelly and all the other wildlife which suffers from persecution down to these money grabbing shooting estates. They have total disregard for the countryside and now they are caught showing total disregard for the local residents by contaminating the water supply of paying customers with dead and decomposing birds. THEY NEED TO CLOSE THESE DISGUSTING SHOOTING ESTATES DOWN !!
I find nothing on the Yorks Water website about this. I’d expect a comment, if only to re-assure customers.