IAF February 2019 eBulletin

Thanks to volunteer translators, this eBulletin is available in other languages. If you would like to take part, email info@iaf.org . If your language does not appear, we load any late translations onto the Facebook page

A message from IAF President H.E. Majed Al Mansouri on the passing of the great Tom Cade:

It was with considerable sadness that we heard today of the passing of Tom Cade. Tom was a true friend and long-term supporter of the IAF. He worked with us often, and always brought wisdom and integrity to our meetings.

His work in founding the Peregrine Fund and in solving the problems of breeding large falcons in captivity, with the aim of helping to preserve many endangered species by means of domestic propagation and the reintroduction of progeny to the wild, not least the peregrine, was truly visionary.

On a personal level, I was privileged to have worked with him on many occasions and to have met him socially on many more.

He is forever owed a huge debt by falconers; a real gentleman who will be sadly missed throughout the worlds of falconry and of science. His enormous contributions truly spanned around the globe.

Slovakia adds Falconry to their national Intangible Cultural Heritage list:

Slovak officials have confirmed that falconry has been added to the countries national intangible cultural list, with aspirations to add their countries submission of our art to the international UNESCO submission portfolio, this would increase the number of submissions for falconry as intangible cultural heritage of humanity to 19, the largest item on this list submitted by such a variety of countries.

Education and Awareness in Bird of Prey Handling and Welfare

A conference organised on 11 January 2019, by Club Fridericus Rex hosted by Nature Trust Malta at their premises at Xrobb l-Għaġin, Marsaxlokk, on education and awareness in bird of prey handling and welfare for voluntary and regulatory organisations. It included in the audience, representatives of both falconry clubs in Malta, the FKNK (Maltese Hunters), police, Wild Bird Regulations Unit officials, fire brigade staff, FACE, veterinarians and many others. A big thanks goes to all who organised it, especially to Secretary Noel Demicoli and President Jean-Carl Grech for their input and hard work in this project. Speakers were Prof. Thomas Richter, Dr. Susanne Hartmann, Gary Timbrell, and Dr Ladislav Molnar, whose practical handling session was particularly important for all present .

Biodiversity Letter from Biodiversity WG Chairman Michael Greshake:

Dear Delegates,

The UN categorizes species extinction as the biggest challenge for humanity after climate change. We falconers are particularly affected by the loss of our game. Even in this now-ending season, falconers in Central Europe are increasingly affected. In addition to the pheasant and partridge, the rabbit and the carrion crow are now disappearing locally. We are in the middle of a disaster. Many young people who are interested in falconry will not be able to develop their own falconry career due to the increasing loss of opportunities. For many of us older people, this is not as evident, as through our contacts and finances there are further opportunities of which we may take advantage.

This is the reason why a few years ago the biodiversity  group PERDIX was founded within the IAF. And yes, we got involved. I do not need to list specifics here as its accomplishments are known. But this topic remains outside of the primary focus of our falconry policy, certainly due to a feeling of desperation, but in part also due to disinterest and laziness.

I would like to organize a meeting with the European presidents in Brussels in the summer to put the issue back on the agenda and to reinforce our points. To consider how we can evolve and, ultimately, to develop a program that shows the public that the issue is extremely important to us. 

In times when we all know that hunting is being critiqued, I believe it is important to show the public that we are serious about the responsibility for our game species, its habitats, as well as the environment in which we live. I would like your feedback regarding this idea, 

Yours, Michael

Developments in the IAF Brussels Headquarters:

Throughout the last few months, the IAF headquarters in Brussels have been reorganized and a new division of spaces has been implemented, allowing for more separate offices with desks and a new board table. To view pictures of the new developments and get further information on the building and its history and current uses, please click here.

Venue for the 2019 Council of Delegates Meeting

At the meeting in Bamberg, delegates voted unanimously to accept the invitation of the Asociacion Española de Cetreria y Conservacion de Aves Rapaces (AECCA) to host the meeting in Spain. The venue will be the Andalusian town of Carmona between the1st and 6th of December 2019.

Carmona is perfectly situated for falconry. The meetings will be held in the town, where social events will also take place, and hunting grounds on the surrounding plains will provide great hawking on red partridge and hares, later in the week.

Frontline Dispatches Issue 1 - 2019:

We would like to draw falconers attention to a new on-line publication promoting conservation through sustainable use and hunting. The latest edition of this can be downloaded from their website. Among other interesting articles, this edition contains an article on the conservation of saker falcons by former IAF president, Adrian Lombard.

IAF Website Members area:

There is a little confusion over the function of the Members Area on the IAF website: this is a facility operated by the service provider that can allow for many functions, including private discussions and event registrations, neither of which IAF uses.

For IAF, this area is only used for updating information, for example for the Member Clubs to update the name of their delegate or representative, the number of members they have, addresses for Journals, etc., and to use a PayPal link to pay membership dues.
It can also be used by Individual Subscribers for similar purposes – paying subscription fees and updating their details.

When someone becomes an Individual Subscriber or a new club joins us, we put their details in the Members Area and they are given a password to access that information for themselves. Only the IAF Secretariat has access to the whole database and the information on it is secure and not given to anyone else.

In conclusion: only the IAF Office, IAF Member Clubs and IAF Individual Subscribers can access the IAF Website Members Area.

Individual Subscribers

Individual Subscribers assist IAF financially, there are a number of options beiginning at €30. They receive a copy of the annual International Journal of Falconry (see above) and can attend the Council of Delegates Meetings of IAF, where they have automatic Observer status. Please click on the green button.

They receive log-in details to the IAF members page on www.iaf.org to access areas of the site not open to non-IAF. 

A new page for donations is now open and member organizations, non members and individual subscribers a can all can make donations to specific projects in which IAF is directly involved: .General purposes, DOD's, Saker Falcons, Preventing Electrocutions, Pedix Portal, Schools Links Project and Vultures

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