In an effort to avoid hijacking the “Rules of Cool” thread with a discussion of falconry or hunting ethics, I’m posting this here:
Well… no. The hawk eats enough of the prey he catches as he needs to sustain good health, and I don’t claim to be participating in a “natural hunter/hunted cycle”–at the very least, I’m conditioning, training, and finding and flushing prey for the predator, giving him several huge advantages over his wild existence. That’s why he chooses to stay and hunt with my help instead of flying away.
The big differences to me between the feedlot beef and the wild rabbit are the life experience of the animal in question (living a short and uncomfortable life packed like sardines in a feedlot eating agricultural garbage vs living a wild life) and the impact on the environment. That being said, in a perfect world I’d raise my own happy livestock in green pastures and give them a comfy life and easy death and never buy meat from Safeway again, though I’d still participate in falconry to supplement my life and my family’s table. Give me a couple years, we’re working on that one.
Also, I misspoke calling my hawk an “apex” predator–in this area at least he may be predated by Great Horned Owls or Golden Eagles.
Anyway, this thread is welcome to be about falconry in general, birds of prey, hunting, eating meat, or any tangential topic. I’m an apprentice falconer, so while I’m happy to do an “ask the falconer” sort of thing if folks are interested, and I am more knowledgeable than the general public, I may need to reference my master falconers from time to time.
I’ve noshed a few rabbits in my day, both wild and those raised in a backyard (not factory) for sale. I gotta say, the pen raised were much better for eating than the wild.
I suspect that the wild ones were actually feral, and not native, except for the jacks. Nobody I knew would eat jacks.
Anyway, the cottontail-looking wild rabbits were always tougher (drier) and a little “gamey”.
BTW; I doubt that any rabbit taken by a hawk dies a quick death, hence your knife. I think a high powered rifle handled by a skilled human would be more humane.
Can you imagine what a mess it would be if everyone went out to hunt their own meat?
For one thing, there just wouldn’t be enough of it.
ETA: except the part about dying a quick death. Many do, especially waterfowl caught by a stooping falcon which generally die instantly from the impact.
At the 2008 Fiesta Bowl (Let’s GOOOOOO, Mountaineers!) Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons sang the national anthem --aaack!— and a bald eagle soared around the stadium. (Cliché as all get out – and I was choked up nevertheless!)
Of course, coverage cut away to a commercial before we saw where the eagle ended up. I assume that the eagle was trained by a falconer.
freckafree, my guess is you saw Challenger; I think he’s the only Bald ever free-flown in large-scale events. He’s not a falconry bird, but housed and handled under rehab and educational permits.
In general, balds are much too high-strung and violent to be free-handled. They’re very jumpy, nervous birds with an unsettling tendency to aim for the jugular. They don’t make good falconry birds because, as sea eagles hunting fish, it’s hard for a falconer to be of any use to them. The same is true for osprey. I do know of one person who flies a bald over furred quarry and is a successful rabbit hawker, but this is a total aberration.
That Challenger is so calm is some kind of freaky miracle.
I just want to add, again, that I’m still an apprentice and all those qualifiers.
If any ornithology-type dopers are hanging around and want to chime in, I’m more than thrilled to be corrected and schooled as needed.
NajaNivea, my hat is off to you for apprenticing in an ancient trade. Is there really a formal process of apprenticeship? I’m sorta picturing you with a patch that says, “Falconry and Codgery Workers, Local 683.”
Now, the opinion. While it may make sense to discuss the ethics of hunting by humans, the methods of natural predators are a part of natural balance. We cannot drape an overlay of human ethics over life in the wild. Predators kill, and prey feed them. There is no right or wrong in it, and cruelty or kindness have nothing to do with it. In my opinion, this extends to the falconer. Her bird kills prey in the most natural way possible.
So, is this basically an “Ask the Falconer” thread? Cause I have questions!
What made you get into falconry? What exactly is it…a hobby? Job? How do you spend your typical day?
Where do you get the birds from? How many have you trained with?
What are some of the people like in your field? Heard any crazy stories?
Not exactly. The actual kill, yes, but the truly wild bird does not return to a human. Nor does it have a partner to scare (flush) prey for it.
Also, when you carry a bird into wild bird territory you are temporarily upsetting the natural balance. Probably not a big deal, but still.
I should say that I’m also a little uncomfortable with the idea of people keeping ferrets. My (adult) daughter has two.
