marsh man Posted February 8, 2021 Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 Looking at last nights Countryfile it mentioned the suicidal rate in the farming industry , after this last game season I would imagine there are a lot of keepers and people who work in the shooting industry who are seriously worried about there livelihoods as well as the farmers ect , take gamekeepers for instance , on the bigger shoots the house come as part of the job , the wages are fair but not brilliant and many rely on the season tips as part of there income , some large shoots can withstand one really poor year and will be taking bookings for the coming season , but others will be counting the cost and deciding if it is worth continuing with the expense of running a shoot and this will leave the keeper worrying about weather he have still got a job or not , in the season itself he have got a lot of company on shoot days but now the season is finished he will be spending a lot of time in isolation with no one to talk to . These people are often overlooked when they talk about suicides in the farming industry , but with gamekeepers it's not always the idelic life style it's made out to be, they can suffer from mental illness the same as other people , and after the season they have just add, it would make even the ones who take life as it comes worry about the outlook . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkin Posted February 8, 2021 Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 Hello mate ,did not see country file but as you say some worrying times ahead for game keepers game rearers etc ,alot of the work is so solitary they don't see people only at shoot times on a regular basis ,and the thing is I hope things soon change for the comming season if not people will not want to put money up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted February 9, 2021 Report Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) Hello, never watched the programme but have to agree MM, I am sure there is a Gamekeepers charity so would expect them to be very busy as some of their money comes from many shoots and if stopped supporting many keepers will have nothing to fall back on, may be we should have a fund page, ? The Gamekeepers Welfare Trust, is the Charity, Edited February 9, 2021 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 Saw this today https://basc.org.uk/gamekeeper-survey-reports-alarming-increase-in-abuse/ I wonder how many prosecutions there have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 28 minutes ago, islandgun said: Saw this today https://basc.org.uk/gamekeeper-survey-reports-alarming-increase-in-abuse/ I wonder how many prosecutions there have been. NONE !!! BUT!!! You can get ten years for lying about your holiday destination. You could not make it up, but we keep votong for'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 There has always been a high suicide rate in the farming industry, i don't really understand why except that it is a clear indication of how much pressure they must be under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 29 minutes ago, Vince Green said: There has always been a high suicide rate in the farming industry, i don't really understand why except that it is a clear indication of how much pressure they must be under Loneliness. and often very little money especially for hill farmers, now we have a bunch of ******** that are telling farmers they are destroying the planet with their livestock.. I actually despair for the country............. and its food supply ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 37 minutes ago, Vince Green said: There has always been a high suicide rate in the farming industry, i don't really understand why except that it is a clear indication of how much pressure they must be under Mostly because they’re used to dealing with death so know what they’re doing and have means (guns mostly etc) that are very effective. Someone in town who takes some pills and gets seen by their mates is likely to get stopped. A farmer who’s blown his brains out down the cow shed and no ones even noticed for 3 weeks isn’t very likely to be stopped before the act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Vince Green said: i don't really understand why There are a lot of pressures - finance usually at the root of it, but it is hard and risky in that it is subject to weather, disease, market forces etc., and the products both seasonal and are time limited. On top of that - for most anyway, it is hard work. Edited February 10, 2021 by JohnfromUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 43 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said: There are a lot of pressures - finance usually at the route of it, but it is hard and risky in that it is subject to weather, disease, market forces etc., and the products both seasonal and are time limited. On top of that - for most anyway, it is hard work. Very rarely these days you get two years with the same weather , it is normally from one extreme to the other , last year there was very little hay for the livestock due to the long dry spell of weather , the Peas were up to 50% down on yield , grain crops were also down , then for those farmers that grow salad crops had the worry about labour shortage due to the lack of foreign labour , all these set backs are bad enough for those who own the land and even worse for the ones who have to pay rent , now we are going through one of the wettest winters for years and tonight could be one of the coldest nights for many years , all this during a worldwide pandemic and one lockdown after another . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRINITY Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 I spent the last 18 years before retirement working in the agricultural sector and I know how hard it is for many farmers to make money. There are some farmers who are sat on 100/1000's of inherited land they are extremely rich in the most and extremely fortunate. However they still grumble and will never admit it. There are many others less fortunate and although they are very good at what they do, the odds are always stacked against them and they have a tough time. When I really think about kicking the telly in , is when I see various programmes about people who know sweet FA , moving to the country thinking they can make a living out of 2 acres, 4 pigs, one goat and 2 dozen chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benthejockey Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 hours ago, Vince Green said: There has always been a high suicide rate in the farming industry, i don't really understand why except that it is a clear indication of how much pressure they must be under Constant pressure, long hours, isolation, money. I work on a dairy farm and run a small flock of sheep. My goal is to get up to 100 breeding ewes, were currently at 30. I've spent every night for the last week sat out until gone midnight waiting on sheep to lamb. And I've got probably another month of this left. And for me at the minute the biggest worry is the weather, I'm rapidly running out of lambing pens and I need to turn some lambs out but the snow means I can't, throw into that a couple of sheep trying to throw their fannies out and a vet call out at 9pm last night it can get a bit stressful. I love lambing time but its very intense and I've got chance to step away from it all when it starts going to pot but if its your job and where you live and you've got no chance to step back and catch your breath then you can understand why it gets on top of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbob Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 We do a course every 3 month as the highest cause of suicide in males (under 35) but i dont know how they came to that age range is there mental health Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth K - GWT Posted June 24, 2021 Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 Just came across this thread. I work for the Gamekeeper's Welfare Trust (GWT), the charity dedicated to supporting gamekeepers, stalkers, ghillies and their families. There are a range of reasons why people in rural jobs may be more inclined to take their own lives. They include being isolated by working alone and having no-one to talk to and share even small issues with, and being in traditionally stoic roles, and not having easy access to support (poor broadband, poor rural health services). Additionally many people in these roles are men, who are statistically more likely to take their lives than women. Men aged 45 - 49 still have the highest suicide rate. This may be down to unhelpful stereotypes about worry being 'weak' and men should be 'strong'. In 2018 GWT launched Raising the Game, with partners in the shooting sector, which is a commitment to supporting the mental health of keepers, stalkers, ghillies and their families and ensuring they have effective support. One of the first things we did was develop and launch STAG Training for keepers, stalkers and ghillies. Set goals, Take action, Awareness, Get talking. We worked with award-winning training company IED Training Solutions, who are former Royal Marines, to develop the course and they deliver it for us. It's been so successful that in 2020, female partners of those who had done the course asked for a course specifically for them. We obliged and now have HIND Training available. Last winter we added free counselling to the support we offer. So we have a free helpline (Jamie's Helpline), free Gamekeeping for Life Packs for those in the job, free packs for students training for the job, free training, free counselling, financial support, employment help, recruitment support (via our sister organisation Rural Recruits) - we have pretty good help available for all the family (those in the job, their partners/spouses, their children and their parents). Please have a look at our website www.thegamekeeperswelfaretrust.com and follow us on Facebook (Gamekeepers Welfare Trust), Twitter (@GWelfare), Insta, and LinkedIn (Gamekeepers Welfare Trust). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discobob Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 16 hours ago, Ruth K - GWT said: Just came across this thread. I work for the Gamekeeper's Welfare Trust (GWT), the charity dedicated to supporting gamekeepers, stalkers, ghillies and their families. There are a range of reasons why people in rural jobs may be more inclined to take their own lives. They include being isolated by working alone and having no-one to talk to and share even small issues with, and being in traditionally stoic roles, and not having easy access to support (poor broadband, poor rural health services). Additionally many people in these roles are men, who are statistically more likely to take their lives than women. Men aged 45 - 49 still have the highest suicide rate. This may be down to unhelpful stereotypes about worry being 'weak' and men should be 'strong'. In 2018 GWT launched Raising the Game, with partners in the shooting sector, which is a commitment to supporting the mental health of keepers, stalkers, ghillies and their families and ensuring they have effective support. One of the first things we did was develop and launch STAG Training for keepers, stalkers and ghillies. Set goals, Take action, Awareness, Get talking. We worked with award-winning training company IED Training Solutions, who are former Royal Marines, to develop the course and they deliver it for us. It's been so successful that in 2020, female partners of those who had done the course asked for a course specifically for them. We obliged and now have HIND Training available. Last winter we added free counselling to the support we offer. So we have a free helpline (Jamie's Helpline), free Gamekeeping for Life Packs for those in the job, free packs for students training for the job, free training, free counselling, financial support, employment help, recruitment support (via our sister organisation Rural Recruits) - we have pretty good help available for all the family (those in the job, their partners/spouses, their children and their parents). Please have a look at our website www.thegamekeeperswelfaretrust.com and follow us on Facebook (Gamekeepers Welfare Trust), Twitter (@GWelfare), Insta, and LinkedIn (Gamekeepers Welfare Trust). 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) An important point in rural areas. https://www.thedpjfoundation.co.uk/ May be of relevance, Another rural based organisation which can offer help with these issues. Cheers Aled Edited June 25, 2021 by Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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