Falconry

[torjusg]

Since a lot of people are very fond of falconry here, I thought I'd give a different perspective.

Falconry developed in a time when there was very few people and taking some chicks from a raptor wouldn't really affect the population. Today however, Europe is extremely densely populated and has now less habitat and as a consequence of population; more potential falconeers. Because of this, areas where there are still some raptors, like Scandinavia, is being raided by professional egg-thieves from Europe.

Of course, some raptors are less decimated than others, but the prestigious birds like the gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon and golden eagle are quite heavily persued in Scandinavia. They may not be threatened world-wide, but that doesn't help me.

 

[faff]

Since a lot of people are very fond of falconry here, I thought I'd give a different perspective.

Falconry developed in a time when there was very few people and taking some chicks from a raptor wouldn't really affect the population. Today however, Europe is extremely densely populated and has now less habitat and as a consequence of population; more potential falconeers. Because of this, areas where there are still some raptors, like Scandinavia, is being raided by professional egg-thieves from Europe.

Of course, some raptors are less decimated than others, but the prestigious birds like the gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon and golden eagle are quite heavily persued in Scandinavia. They may not be threatened world-wide, but that doesn't help me.

thats why in the U.K you can only have a captive bred bird.

 

[torjusg]

thats why in the U.K you can only have a captive bred bird.

Yes, to the extent I would believe them to be that. I think that is the case in most of Europe. But still people are paying in the region of £5000 for a gyrfalcon egg. I suspect that the breeders want some new blood brought into their birds once in a while.

 

[faff]

these eggs bring big money in the middle east.

 

[Stuart]

you would be condemned by the entire Falconing community if you were even vaguely suspected of stealing birds from the wild and rightly so, its a requirement when owning a raptor in the UK to hold the details of its parent birds to show that they were captive bred birds.

There is no benefit in such behaviour in Europe, there are plenty of captive birds here of every breed and no danger of the gene pool being to small, so in turn there is no money to be made from introducing more.

So can we quit with the unfounded fearmongering now?

 

[Mikey P]

So can we quit with the unfounded fearmongering now?

Unfortunately, 'fearmongering' is what this site is starting to do quite well...

 

[torjusg]

you would be condemned by the entire Falconing community if you were even vaguely suspected of stealing birds from the wild and rightly so, its a requirement when owning a raptor in the UK to hold the details of its parent birds to show that they were captive bred birds.

There is no benefit in such behaviour in Europe, there are plenty of captive birds here of every breed and no danger of the gene pool being to small, so in turn there is no money to be made from introducing more.

So can we quit with the unfounded fearmongering now?

It isn't fearmongering, but birds are disappearing from Scandinavia, where they go I don't know. But I know for a fact that it is mainly Europeans that is stealing them. Whether they sell them on to the Middle East I wouldn't know.

No need being so defensive, I wasn't rude in my initial post, just pointing out facts.

 

[Stuart]

I have to admit to not knowing the situation in Scandinavia, perhaps there is a problem there.

But I can tell you that the theft or sale of wild birds is not a problem in the United Kingdom, we are however suffering a problem with uneducated 'activists' publicly spouting all kinds of nonsense because they 'assume' these bird must have come from the wild or (and even more strangely) they are against the idea of hunting with hawks (because everyone knows that hawks in the wild consume only tofu and soya beans )

if you are having a problem in Scandinavia then I understand your wish to make it known, but please don’t post your thoughts on a British forum using blanket terms like 'Europe' when you are talking specifically and only about a possible problem in Scandinavia.

this kind of action only serves to stoke the fires of the ignorant masses into banning a millennia old interaction between man and Raptor due to fearmongering hype about problems that don’t exist here.

 

[torjusg]

I have to admit to not knowing the situation in Scandinavia, perhaps there is a problem there.

But I can tell you that the theft or sale of wild birds is not a problem in the United Kingdom, we are however suffering a problem with uneducated 'activists' publicly spouting all kinds of nonsense because they 'assume' these bird must have come from the wild or (and even more strangely) they are against the idea of hunting with hawks (because everyone knows that hawks in the wild consume only tofu and soya beans )

if you are having a problem in Scandinavia then I understand your wish to make it known, but please don’t post your thoughts on a British forum using blanket terms like 'Europe' when you are talking specifically and only about a possible problem in Scandinavia.

this kind of action only serves to stoke the fires of the ignorant masses into banning a millennia old interaction between man and Raptor due to fearmongering hype about problems that don’t exist here.

I agree, the term European is a little broad. There is definately a problem here, but I suppose the eggs are going elsewhere than Britain then.

 

[james_falconry1]

Maybe the Scandinavian enforcement agenices should take more of a stand and try and stop thieving, Scandinavian Falconers can also help. As for new blood, thats why in England Defra do on occasions grant wild take licences, not many per year if any every year. I dont think saying Falconry is the problem, what about egg collectors.

 

[torjusg]

Maybe the Scandinavian enforcement agenices should take more of a stand and try and stop thieving, Scandinavian Falconers can also help. As for new blood, thats why in England Defra do on occasions grant wild take licences, not many per year if any every year. I dont think saying Falconry is the problem, what about egg collectors.

There is quite an effort that is taken, but the population density in Norway is quite a lot lower than in the UK (devided by 20) so having a complete picture of it all is very much impossible.

Falconry is illegal in Norway, I don't know about the other Scandinavian countries.