Expand the live capture of…

Expand the live capture of wild raptors by licensed falconers is a great idea! Falconers care for their birds, other raptors and the environment in general. Often when sick or injured birds are found, people turn to falconers to retrieve the animal and get them to a suitable rehabilitation center. It was falconers that provided many of the captive bred Peregrine falcons that were released to help save the bird from extinction. They participate and support key organizations such as the The Peregrine Fund, which release more than 4,000 falcons. Today, falconers continue to support their work recovering other threatened raptors such as the Aplomado falcon, bald eagle, bat falcon, California condor, harpy eagle, Madagascar fish eagle, Mauritius kestrel, orange-breasted falcon, and prairie falcon.

In general raptor populations, disease, predation and simple competition leave many raptor species with a low chance of survival during the first year of life. It is often the birds that are suffering that are the ones trapped by falconers since these are the birds most likely to "take the bait". Falconers trap these young birds, nurse them to optimal health and provide protection from predators while giving them access to modern veterinary practices. Afterward, once the falconer has gained the raptors trust, the raptor and falconer develop a one-of-a-kind relationship where the raptor allows the falconer to participate in its hunt. After hunting together for for several seasons and long after the period of vulnerability has passed, the raptors are released back into the wild to thrive and reproduce.

A few final notes, the number of birds taken by falconers in general is minuscule in comparison to the number of raptors lost every year naturally in the wild. Even if every bird taken by a falconer never made its way back to the wild population, the effect on wild bird populations would be minuscule. However, as stated above, falconers typically catch suffering birds, recover their health and release them back into the wild, likely producing a net increase of population. Falconry birds are healthy birds, cared by the falconer, are kept in optimal health, are not starved or otherwise underfed. Their sport is not a "blood sport" because it really is just the bird has been trained to allow the handler participate in what it does naturally: hunt for its prey.

Falconry is a sport and an art. Allowing more falconers to take more wild birds will likely only help the wild population of raptors!