I am currently practicing…

I am currently practicing the art of falconry in the province of Ontario as a licenced falconer through the OMNR and as a member of the OHC. I have recently had the privilege of sponsoring an apprentice falconer through to acquiring his general falconry licence. With this license, the apprentice was able to trap, train, care for and successfully hunt with a wild passage hawk in the way that falconry has been practiced for thousands of years. Being able to hunt with a wild native species that is intrinsically adapted to hunt local prey is the ideal way to practice this ancient art. It is not about acquiring a bird for free. There is no place in falconry for that kind of attitude. The hawk is released at the end of the hunting season so it can continue its life cycle unencumbered and with no negative impact on the population numbers of its species. I have involved my apprentice with conservation efforts in creating habitat for raptor prey species, installing raptor nest boxes and in encouraging the protection of habitat for all species. This is the core of who we are as falconers. We are of the belief that if we "take something" from nature then we actively give back to nature. I am confident that the apprentice that I sponsored will in turn educate a future falconer with these core values of the importance of species conservation.

I have several apprentices that have been let down by the current wild take lottery draw system. I am absolutely in favour of eliminating the draw system so that I may continue to guide my apprentices in successfully hunting with their native bird, with the added benefit of those apprentices becoming citizen scientists and passionate and engaged conservation advocates.