Finnley named Best Young Gamekeeper by industry body
An Angus gamekeeper has been named as the top in his profession is a ceremony at this year’s GWCT Scottish Game Fair.
Finnley Struthers (23) achieved a life goal when he was crowned Scotland’s best young gamekeeper.
Originally from Aberfeldy, Finnley’s career path was set after lessons from his grandfather and uncle. He received the award at the event, from Alex Hogg MBE, Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) chairman.
The UHI North Highland gamekeeping graduate has managed for grouse, deer and salmon fishing on estates in Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and Angus to date, with Millden Estate in Glen Esk being his current home.
His passion has seen him win high praise from staff and peers and he fought off stiff competition for the prestigious award, which recognises skills in gamekeeping, deer management and river ghillieing.
He said: “I have been aware of this award for some time. I’d always said to myself it would be good to get that, some day. My grandfather was a gamekeeper in Perthshire and I spoke to him a lot about the job. My uncle took me beating on shoot days as a youngster and, after that, it was the only thing I wanted to do.”
Finnley is also aware of the privilege of sharing the moors and hills with keystone species every day. Biodiversity monitoring occurs frequently at Millden and seeing rare birds and fauna thrive from gamekeeper management is something he appreciates in his work.
He added: “We have really good numbers of breeding curlew, redshank, lapwing and oystercatcher and it is great to see in Springtime.
“There’s lot of other wildlife, too. We’ve got merlin and kestrel nests. We put up barn owl boxes in winter and we’ve got red squirrel feeders all over the estate and really good numbers of reds. It’s good for the general public to see, too.”
Mr Hogg said: “Individuals like Finnley represent the industry’s future. We are seeing such rapid change in gamekeeping, deer management and pressures on our salmon. It’s never been more important to have capable, passionate voices who really care and want to take the industry forward in a positive way.”