Hello! I am a general…

Hello! I am a general licensed falconer in Ontario and wish to express my support for this policy change. I think that the removal of the lottery is especially interesting and potentially very beneficial to new falconers. While I personally have never tried for the lottery, I have always been interested in the possibility of experiencing falconry at its truest form. I always wished to give the apprentices the highest chance at a wild take permit, so the removal of the lottery would allow other falconers in my situation the opportunity.
As a UNESCO recognized living heritage for humanity, the act of collecting a young bird from the wild and training it to work with you is an intrinsic part of keeping the historical tradition and deep connection to nature. This is especially important given how urbanized our world has become in recent decades.
It is also an incredibly important change, in my opinion, for the apprentices and individuals interested in starting their falconry journey. The lack of a lottery will allow them to choose the option trap their first bird from the wild and experience the true tradition of falconry. This also means that if the apprentice determines falconry is not for them, they can release the bird back to the wild.
By trapping a juvenile wild bird, the falconer also greatly increases the chance of the bird surviving. Scientific studies have shown that young birds have a much higher mortality rate than adults of the same species. It is proven that up to 50%; and generally believed that up to 80% for some species; of juveniles will not live past their first year, so by trapping a wild bird it is likely one of those who wouldn't have survived is taken. The falconer can then raise the bird up past this high risk period, teach them to hunt successfully (this is not done by their parents in the wild) and then release them back into the wild as an adult, usually one or two years later. These successful young adult birds then rejoin the breeding population to maintain or even increase the number of wild birds, due to the presence of more breeding age individuals.
As for the goshawk addition, I understand that the Ontario Hawking Club has spent many years doing nest counts to ensure that there is a stable breeding population before requesting their addition. I agree they should not be on a wild take for apprentices, but rather for generals who are able to successfully train these powerful and tempermental birds.
Thank you.