Not only a hobby, but also a sport... That's falconry!

There is a competition in Dubai which is held every year, that consists about not only the ability to hunt, but more focused on the speed and training of the bird. What this event is about its to test the obedience of the bird to its trainer, what this is trying to show and compete with other falcon trainers, is the speed which is the main attraction of this event, first of all as stated in the armthrope falcons “The event is basically a speed trial with the top 10 fastest falcons from each category receiving a prize.” (armthrope-falcons.uk.co).

In order to enter the competition you must first register you falcon via computer, by adding its chip number, so that it can be tracked and supervised of how it does on the competition. Once the falcon is registered they are randomly decided who faces who, but they are divided in male and female, once the competition starts, the trained bird must obey the trainer by going through ray beam circles inside a dome, this is a closed area so there are no distractions, the top 3 fastest falcons win the prize.

AS stated by the armthrope falcons the competition divides in categories:

• Day 1 is for wild pure Saker falcons.
• Day 2 is for wild pure Peregrine falcons.
• Day 3 is for Gyr x Peregrine males.
• Days 4 is for Gyr x Peregrine females.
• Day 5 is for pure Gyr falcons and Gyr x Sakers.

“Males and females compete against each other except in the Gyr x Peregrine sections; due to the large number of these falcons it would not be possible to run them all through in one day.” (armthrope-falcons.uk.co) the winning prize is a brand new car, while all the other 50 finalist get a consolation prize for their efforts, so in conclusion, everybody wins something it is just matter of having the guts and ability to enter this beautiful competition.

In my personal opinion I do like this kind of competitions, mainly because they are not about hunting, it is about speed and instincts, I would go to a competition but as audience and would be an unusual event to see 80 – 130 falcons flying at tremendous speeds.

"Falconry." British Falcoers Club. 2002. Web. Aug.-Sept. 2011. <http://www.britishfalconersclub.co.uk/about/history/>.

"Speeding." Armthrope Falcons 2003. Web. Aug.-Sept. 2011. <http://armthorpe-falcons.co.uk/news/visit-to-the-falcon-competition-dubai2011/>.

All about Fanconry

Falconry can be defined as the training of hunting birds such as the falcons or hawks, the purpose of this action is for them to hunt, or in other fan ways it can be interpreted as "Falconry is an art. It requires long hours, constant devotion, finesse, subtlety and skill." (pbs.org) but the magic of falconry doesn't consist in just releasing the bird and kill its pray, it consists in training the bird, releasing it in order to kill for a human and return to its owner's captivity. According to Ted Benzon, administrator for the falconry program in South Dakota "Falconry is not a hobby; it’s a lifestyle." (pbs.org) As we can see, not only this training has become a hobby, but a lifestyle; also there has been a lot of fan clubs supporting this awesome lifestyle mainly inside the United States, however, the oldest falconry-related fan club was founded in Europe around 1927 called the British falconer's club. (britishfalconersclub.co.uk)

However, falconry is not accepted everywhere because sometimes people see the training as animal abuse, so there are federal laws covering the rights of the falcons. According to the Falconer's Memoir, the states which falconry is not allowed inside the United States are the following: Connecticut, Washington D.C. Hawaii and Detroit. So, in order to incite people to accept falconry, they are showing it off as an art, a way of hunting and collaborating with animals, helping the human relationship with the birds. (pbs.org).

In my personal opinion, I support falconry due to its magnificent way to train wild animals without even harming them, they are just using their own instincts for their benefit. Its really beautiful to see a falcon fly in the skies and drop at 300 km/h to attack its pray without harming itself.

PBS. "Falconry." A Falconer's Memoir. 2000. Web. Aug.-Sept. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/falconer/falconry/index.htm>.

"Falconry." British Falcoers Club. 2002. Web. Aug.-Sept. 2011. <http://www.britishfalconersclub.co.uk/about/history/>.