As a falconer for 34 years…

As a falconer for 34 years and also a person that ran an environmental education center in North Carolina, I can say with conviction that falconers are all strong advocates for the conservation of birds of prey . It has been scientifically proven that falconers have no negative impact on wild raptor populations in north America and may in fact help populations by taking you at risk birds from the wild, giving them support to learn survival strategies and releasing them as better hunters later in life.
Falconers also provide human relationship with these wild birds and most of us allow a window of appreciation to them to the people around us either informally or with group programs in our communities.
Falconry is a win for raptors and it is a mistake to put too many limitations on the sport.