Conservation award for Strangford man

7 December 2016

A STRANGFORD landowner has won one of the UK’s most prestigious conservation awards.

David Sandford, who runs the Portloughan Shoot on the shores of Strangford Lough, bagged the Gold Award at the 2016 Purdey Awards in London recently.

Mr Sandford was presented with the trophy and £5,000 by countryside broadcaster and TV personality Julia Bradbury.

The awards are run annually to find the UK’s most outstanding game and conservation projects. The chairman of the judging panel was the Duke of Wellington.

Mr Sandford received the top award in recognition of what the judges described as his exceptional vision and leadership in successfully re-establishing a sustainable population of wild grey partridge.

Mr. Sandford achieved his ambition to reintroduce wild grey partridge by persuading 21 neighbouring farmers to join him in working together under Northern Ireland’s Countryside Management Scheme.

This resulted in providing what was formerly grassland with the necessary mix of interconnecting arable strips to provide the right habitat to support wild greys.

Mr Sandford was able to introduce the grey partridges by importing family units of indigenous Irish brood stock, having secured a cross border agreement from the Irish Grey Partridge Trust in Co Offaly in 2014.

Four coveys were released in 2015 and again in 2016. The controlled breeding programme is designed to continue for another four years. No birds will be shot until an annual shootable surplus is regularly achieved.

The judged said that by providing appropriate habitats Mr. Sandford was not only enabling the return of grey partridges, but his shoot’s conservation work was enriching Northern Ireland’s wildlife and natural biodiversity.

Mr. Sandford said he was delighted to receive the award. “Shooting and conservation, I firmly believe, do go hand in hand,” he remarked.

“I think that is evident for all to see when they walk around and see the wide biodiversity we have been able to achieve.”

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder