As a Canadian falconer with…

As a Canadian falconer with over 40 years of practical experience in Canada Europe and the Middle East, it is good to see Ontario Dept of Natural resources catch up with its fellow provinces in expanding their falconry regulations particularly with regards to wild take of raptors.

The art of falconry is over 4000 years old and is recognized by UNESCO as being of intangible Human Cultural Heritage. It has been practiced in North America for more than 70 years and never has it been such a good time to practice the art Than today with the wealth of knowledge, information and guidance for those dedicated few. The rights of passage of a falconer has been to be able to capture a live wild hawk, train it, develop its inherent genetic predisposition to hunt and if desired, to release back into nature the following season. No captive bred raptor can replicate the experience of training and hunting with a wild raptor of the year that has learned to survive on its own. In some cases the falconer assists and ensures the success of the wild raptor he has trained so it becomes self sufficient and survive On its own, something 75% of its siblings don't manage to master and unfortunately die in the wild each year.

I applaud the Ontario Government in its willingness to acknowledge along with the rest of the world, that falconry has zero negative impact on wild raptor populations and to encourage and support its practitioners and thereby also support UNESCO recognition of mans cultural values.