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FW: [NEWBIRDHAWK] use of captive-bred vs. wild-taken raptors in falconry



 

-----Original Message-----
From: stan moore
To: newbirdhawk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 2/14/02 9:15 AM
Subject: [NEWBIRDHAWK] use of captive-bred vs. wild-taken raptors in
falconry

Dear friends --
 
Sometimes persons in the public or in the world of ornithology ask why
it is necessary or why someone would want to take a bird from the wild
for falconry.  And sometimes we hear the statement that captive breeding
takes the pressure off wild raptor populations.  Please allow me to make
a few comments on these questions.
 
Regarding the second question, captive breeding does not take pressure
off wild raptor populations in this day and age, because we have state
game agencies that remove the pressure by regulations and limitations of
falconry harvest.  For most raptor species in the United States, there
are so many birds and so few falconers that there is no need for states
to set any limit on a harvest per species.  But for some species, such
as Harris' Hawks, or Northern Goshawks, or (of course) peregrine
falcons, there is a legal harvest in some places, but there may be a
quota set by the state, and often a lottery that falconers must enter in
order to have the right to a permit, much less a bird from the wild.
So, if fifty falconers wanted a wild Harris Hawk from Arizona, but only
twenty permits were allotted, the state would remove the pressure from
the wild population by regulating the harvest.  This was not true
decades ago when there was essentially no state regulation on falconry,
and when, in fact, many states and counties actually paid bounties for
the killing of raptors as vermin!
 
So, the individual states take the pressure off of wild populations by
limiting harvest to standards that are sustainable and appropriate per
species, there is an advantage to captive breeding.  It takes the
pressure, not off the raptor populations, but off the falconers!
Captive breeding makes it possible for falconers to obtain a bird of
many species that they may not be able or be allowed to take from the
wild.  In some cases, falconers may want to fly a species that does not
occur in their geographical area.  Many falconers fly Harris' Hawks, and
gyrfalcons, and of course peregrine falcons, but those species do not
necessarily live, breed, or even migrate through all areas of the
country.  So, instead of driving down to Arizona to legally take a
Harris' Hawk, or driving to Utah to take an out-of-state eyas peregrine
under the lottery, the falconer can save time and just pay for a
captive-bred bird.  It costs money, but saves time and travel.  In our
busy society nowadays, it makes sense for many falconers to purchase
captive-bred birds even if they had access to wild birds.
 
But some falconers do not want to fly captive-bred birds.  Some, like
me, would rather fly a wild-taken bird, because there are certain
psychological connections one can make with a wild bird that one simply
cannot make with a domestically-bred bird.  For instance, it is can take
a lot of effort and commitment to locate a goshawk nest.  The very act
of searching for that pair and finding that nest takes a mindset that is
far different than the act of searching for a breeder of captive-bred
goshawks.  Then you have to climb that tree, and risk being strafed by a
defender of a nest, and you see the flies on the nest and the prey
remains on the nest and you really feel like you are communing with
nature, instead of making a financial transaction with a businessman who
happens to breed and sell raptors.
 
Or if you want to trap a passage bird, you have to build a trap and find
the bird you want and spend lots of time preparing for and working to
obtain that bird from the wild.  It is far different than picking up a
telephone and calling a breeder to place an order for a bird of the
year.
 
Tom Cade, the Dean of peregrine falcon specialists, once called
falconry, a "specialized form of birdwatching".  Falconers routinely see
things, including specialized hunting behaviors, that the public,
birdwatchers, and even biologists rarely see.  But for some falconers,
they would rather watch a bird they know was taken from the wild, than a
captive-bred bird that they simply fly in the wild.  It is a
psychological difference, but it is real.
 
Likewise, some falconers want to fly passage raptors, birds that have a
proven ability to fly well and hunt before the enter captivity.  It is
hard to get such a bird from a breeder!  And the art of flying, manning
and training passage raptors is practiced far less today than in the
past because of the advent of captive breeding for some species.
 
So, there is a lot one can think about regarding flying captive-bred vs.
wild-taken birds in falconry.  There have been a number of scientific
studies by government agencies as well as by professional biologists
regarding falconry impact on wild raptor populations, and in the United
States, it is well documented that falconry has no significant impact on
any wild raptor population.  It has also been determined by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service that poaching (illegal harvest) of raptors is
not a significant problem.
 
Certainly, nothing in this world is perfect.  One of the biggest
conservation concerns regarding falconry harvest of raptors is not
situated in North America, but in the Middle East and Central Asia.  The
problem there is not specifically the practice of flying birds in
falconry, but the fact that many species flown in falconry in places
like Saudi Arabia do not breed there, but are either obtained on
breeding grounds or trapped on passage by professional falcon trappers
and sold in markets, sometimes through a variety of middlemen.  The
commercial aspect of the legal falcon trade, in combination with the
lack of expertise in keeping those birds alive and healthy en route to
their final destinations in the hands of faldconers in Arab countries,
has put a recent threat to the well-being of saker falcon populations.
Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the fall of the Soviet empire
has reduced law enforcement in Central Asia, and the poverty of many
rural people makes it a real temptation for them to take raptors from
the wild and sell them to businessmen who eventually pass them on to
falconers.  This is a complex problem, but a real one, and I am sure
that the solutions will not be easy or swift.  But it would behoove us
to keep track of this situation and seek permanent solutions that work
for the people involved as well as the raptor populations.
 
Regards all,
 
Stan Moore           San Geronimo, CA           hawkman11@hotmail.com
<mailto:hawkman11@hotmail.com> 

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