UNESCO as an Intangible…

UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity tradition has recognized Falconry. This proposal will support this designation bringing it in line with five other Canadian provinces that permit the limited access of wild raptors by qualified falconers.
Only a quarter of immature raptors live and the rest die of starvation during the first year of winter. Falconers harvesting from this population and releasing back to the wild after a year or two of successful hunting would greatly increase their chances of survival.
The knowledge gained by falconers is invaluable as in the Peregrine Falcon which was primarily led by falconers. Annual nesting surveys has helped the MNRF to add the Goshawk to the list of those raptors to be accessed.
Red Tailed Hawk, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Merlin, Coopers Hawk and the proposed Goshawk, with limited access from the wild by falconers would have no impact on the wild raptor population. This therefore should be permitted as outlined in the proposal.