A career in wildlife management

Wildlife Management

GREEN CAREERS

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Why work in Wildlife Management?

One in nine of our native species are at risk due to the impacts of climate change, urbanisation, intensification of agriculture and other environmental pressures. Yet wildlife inspires and enriches our lives, contributes to our wellbeing and underpins the ecosystems that we need to survive.

We conserve rare and vulnerable species by making sure they are protected and managed in a fair and humane way. This can be by fighting crime and managing conflicts, or by protecting wildlife from cruel or poor management.

As a result, wildlife managers play an important role in tackling the climate emergency, safeguarding the environment and protecting and rebuilding Scotland’s natural capital.

The uplands of Scotland are a living, working, landscape. There is no single method that works everywhere in wildlife management so we need to take an integrated approach and be flexible, reviewing what we do regularly.

This allows us to keep up with changing factors such as climate, environment and land use, which could be things like balancing the need for more woodlands against maintaining a deer population that provides economic and social benefits to our society.

Be part of the solution!

If you enjoy working outdoors and value wildlife conservation, the game and wildlife management industry can offer you a diverse and varied range of career opportunities.

You will need practical skills, knowledge of the countryside and its wildlife as well as an ability to work well with people. If you can use your initiative, take responsibility and are prepared to work hard, this could be an incredibly rewarding career for you.

River ghillies provide skilled management of Scotland’s lochs and rivers, helping promote the health of waterways and the species they sustain, such as salmon, trout and freshwater mussels.

Good riverbank management is vital to many species, both aquatic and non-aquatic, and an important part of a ghillie’s role is the maintenance of riverbanks. Ghillies will help and offer advice to visiting anglers on river conditions, availability of fish and recent catches, so need to know a lot about the area they work in.

Gamekeepers can be crucial to the environment they work in, as they manage existing habitat for the benefit of wildlife, legally control pests and predators to maintain a balance in the countryside and are a vital source of information to those visiting rural areas. Whilst legal predator control and habitat management benefits game species like grouse, capercaillie and ptarmigan, it also helps other species such as ground-nesting birds and songbirds.

Habitat management by gamekeepers, such as rotational heather burning on grouse moors, coppicing of woodlands, the creation and maintenance of ponds and wetland areas and the planting of cover crops can be important for conservation and biodiversity.

Deer management is another important job. The animals have no natural predators nowadays and so need to be kept at a sustainable level by culling a certain number humanely every year. Many end up in the human food chain, as venison offers good quality meat which is low in fat and cholesterol.

How do I get started?

There is always a demand for new entrants and there are many career options and routes into the sector.

Whether you decide to study first, or undertake an apprenticeship, the public and private sector are on the lookout for enthusiastic new entrants. So have a look at examples of jobs on the next page for inspiration.

11,000 Sporting shooting sustains 11,000 full-time jobs in Scotland, often in fragile and remote communities

16,000 River ghillies provide skilled management of Scotland’s lochs and rivers, helping promote the health of waterways and the species they sustain

3.9 million working days are spent on conservation, the equivalent of 16,000 full-time jobs

Wildlife Management Career Options Here are some of the jobs you could be doing in our industry.

// ESTATES Gamekeeper Land Manager

// RESERVES Conservation Consultant Reserve Warden

// RIVERS & WATERWAYS Fisheries Manager Ghillie

Routes into a Career in Wildlife Management Depending on your current skills and experience, you could enter at different levels.

JOB LEVEL

SENIOR ROLES

SUPERVISORY ROLES

SCQF LEVEL

TRAINING AND COURSES

12

Doctorate

11

PG CPD Sustainable Deer Management | Masters | Graduate Apprenticeship

10

Honours Degree | Graduate Apprenticeship

9

Degree | Graduate Apprenticeship

8

HND Wildlife and Conservation Management | Technical Apprenticeship Scottish Vocational Qualification | Graduate Apprenticeship

7

Advanced Higher | HNC Gamekeeping with Wildlife Management Scottish Vocational Qualification | HNC Wildlife and Conservation Management

6

Higher | NQ Countryside Skills and Deer Management for Conservation Foundation Apprenticeship | Land-based Workplace Skills Award

5

NC Countryside Management | NC Gamekeeping | Modern Apprenticeship Scottish Vocational Qualification | NPA Rural Skills | National 5 Land-based Workplace Skills Award

4

National 4 | NC Rural Skills | Skills for Work: Rural Skills Land-based Workplace Skills Award

SUPERVISED ROLES

Making a difference

Ranulph Finch:

Andy Oldham

I am working on a large highland estate that is very conservation orientated but still has some sport stalking and shooting. Reducing and maintaining deer numbers at a low density is the priority, with the aim of achieving habitat restoration. On a normal day I would start at 6am, but some days it is 4 in the morning. First thing I do is take my dogs out, then check all the vehicles are fuelled up before we meet up in the yard and head into the hills. My dogs do a great job, and they are really good company too.

I thought it would be difficult to find a new role that could provide me with the same level of challenges and sense of achievement as my 25 years in the Royal Marines, but becoming a deerstalker was the perfect move.

Trainee Stalker

You quite often get golden and sea eagles flying nearby and the whooshing sound their wings make is seriously impressive. There are also lots of buzzards, ravens, foxes, pine martens, red and black grouse, the occasional osprey, so it is pretty diverse up here. We have translocated red squirrels to repopulate woodland and released rehabilitated rescue otters, but the goal is to restore the landscapes such as forest and peatland, so we need to have less deer on the estate.

Deer Stalker and Gamekeeper

It’s a really rewarding career, as you’re privileged to be managing one of the country’s most iconic mammals, while working in such a picturesque environment. There aren’t many jobs in which you share your office with Golden Eagles and Ptarmigan, while enjoying a view of Ben Nevis.

“My new role has exceeded all that I wanted my new career to be.”

Whether it’s being there for someone’s first experience of deer stalking or interacting with people from all walks of life on wildlife tours, there are highlights every day.

“I love it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else”

Through doing my job I have an influence on the future of the Scottish uplands, whether through managing the deer or carrying out habitat assessments to allow wider assessments.

Over the next few years, the plan is to use ponies on the hills instead of vehicles as they have a much lower environmental footprint, and I am really looking forward to using my experience and knowledge in helping that to happen.

Interacting with the general public is also rewarding, as I’m often asked by walkers for help with the best routes to take, or to identify the wildlife they can see.

The best thing about working here is constantly being outside. I love my freedom, and although most people probably would not want to start work in the middle of the night and then be out all day in the rain, I love it and could not imagine doing anything else.

Find out more For information on training and qualifications available, email scotland@lantra.co.uk or call 01738 310 164. www.scotland.lantra.co.uk www.myworldofwork.co.uk @lantrascotland @lantrascotland @lantra.scotland

GREEN CAREERS

Lantra in Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government Updated October 2022