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/>.
I’m not in favor on the abuse of animals. This includes the murderer of certain types of animals, training for human selfishness and keeping them in what is not their original habitat. So that’s why falconry makes me think is the falcon or hawk trainers don’t obligate by the use of physical damage so they can do what they want to. I also think about if they don’t feed the hawks or falcons to control them and the trainer can give a “reward” when they accomplished what trainers want them to do.
ResponderEliminarI know that is a cycle of life in nature that some animals eat and hunt some other animals when they need to. The hawk can kill a deer, the death body of the deer will grow grass from the floor that helps deer survive and live. But, it isn’t part of the life cycle in nature if the human interfere. They used the massacre between animals in order for them to have a little fun because of the competition of the sport falconry implies. Maintaining animals in captivity makes them depend of us humans to take care of them so the evolution of these animals would tend to be more and more domestic being them unable to survive on their own even though they’re trained to hunt, but they can’t be taught how to survive on their own if they don’t do things by themselves; that’s why usually falcons and hawks push their sons off the nest so they can learn to fly alone.
In my opinion, I am against animal training . I think that all animals need to be free to be happy. (: The humans are just training them so they can have fun or make their jobs easier.
ResponderEliminarI don't like the idea of keeping an animal with humans when they should be in their own habitats. It is interesting all you are saying, maybe the falcon is going to be safe with humans or they won't have to worry about the food, but, in the other hand, the idea of working for a human it is not a good idea at all, the humans are just using them to hunt another animals :(! Also, i think that when they said that falconry is going to help the reletionship between humans and birds, the humans are only trying to look good, the birds don't need to have a reletionship with humans, they need to be free and with other animals.
Finally, maybe I need to have more infomation about falconry to give a good point of view. It is possible that the people that practice falconry are really helping the birds and the birds will be in a good enviroment (: I like your subject because I don't know nothing about falconry and it is going to be interesting to read about it. I will love to read all your arguments and I hope that at the end of the semester you can convince and i can change my opinion about this. ;D!