I would like to submit my…

I would like to submit my strong support in increasing the number of raptors taken to be used as hunting companions by trained falconers. Falconry is an ancient sport and actually increases the survivability of the species by trapping inexperienced birds with an expected very high mortality and later releasing these same birds, in many instances, after they have more experience and have learned to hunt more effectively. Falconry is an ancient sport and in vast areas of the world is unregulated but because of the overall positive effect of the falconer on the sport does not result in a decrease in the number of available birds or species of birds. In fact, it was falconers, by their close attention to their beloved birds, who actually first noticed the effect of DDT on the population of birds of prey, particularly the Peregrine Falcon and were vital to reclaiming that species from the brink of extinction in North America.