A new journey ahead

Falconry, the art of training a bird of prey to hunt game is intrinsically linked with wild take, the act of taking a wild bird of prey in its habitat and train it.

 

Wild take has always been a key component of falconry since its existence, but for us in Quebec, Canada, it has not been so simple. Falconry in Canada has been around for more than 50 years, however the possession of a bird of prey has only been legal in the province of Quebec since 2002. This law allowed for the possession of a captive raised accipiter, falcon, hawk or hybrid species only. Despite the possession of a bird of prey, hunting wild quarry was only permitted in 2008, under a specific small games license.

 

Over the past few years, the Quebec Falconers and Austringers Association (AQFA) and the Quebec Falconers association (AQF), and their members, have been putting in efforts with the Ministry of Natural Resources to push for wild take. With a thorough memoir created in 2014, and submitted in 2015, alongside letters from our members to their local government party representatives, a breath of change was in the air. In the winter of 2017, a review of certain captive husbandry techniques was going to be made official, and this was the chance for wild take to become a part of it. A draft of the proposal was released just before the holidays giving people an opportunity to offer feedback and recommendations to the new regulations. AQFA and AFQ asked for the support from NAFA and the Ontario Hawkers Club, among others, in order to present our position regarding wild take. Although the post-mortem of the response took longer than anticipated, August 22nd released what was clearly a new chapter in our province’s small falconry community. Although the regulation is not perfect it will allow for wild take.

 

The falconers in our province will now be authorized to take one of the following four species per year: Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Merlin and Red-tailed Hawk. We will have to pay to receive a trapping license and then, once captured, pay for the possession of a wild bird of prey. We will only be able to trap after the 1st of September until the 31st of December for passage birds. The downfall is that release will not be possible, which creates for many a personal reflection on whether or not to proceed. We have won a battle but not the war. We will continue to fight for improved regulations, the right to release wild birds, as it is done all around the world. Trapping a wild bird of prey will become, for now, as big a commitment as a captive raised bird. For those that are up for the challenge it will be an incredible journey, I am sure. For now, our community is thrilled and proud to be able to add the words ¨trapping season¨ to our vocabulary. Thank you for the help and the unconditional support we have received worldwide, as well as to everyone implicated in making this happen.

 

 

 

Our president (Genevieve Zaloum) would like anyone who may have questions or is struggling with the same battle within their club or association to feel free to contact us at: info@aqfa.org. We hope to be able to support other communities the way we have been supported and have our documents available if needed.