IAF August 2018 eBulletin

China Event

The 1st Chinese Falconry Culture and Heritage Conservation Festival was held at Beijing Xitang Cultural Center in China on 4 -5 August 2018, organized by IAF Member Capital Falconry Heritage Conservation Academy and Beijing Xitang Cultural Centre.

We attended the Festival by invitation and  had short keynote speech at the opening. The main schedule of Day 1 was a series of lectures on topics related to falconry and conservation activities in China. I had an oral presentation to introduce an outline of Japanese falconry and the current situation.

Many falconry arts were displayed in the festival hall where various desks were arranged to show falconry equipment and references of falconry groups. The IAF Journal 2017, the flyer "Falconers in Conservation" and IAF car-stickers were handed out to participants on a designated IAF desk.

The first day was the closed meeting, attended by persons who are members of falconry organizations and authorities such as Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management Division, China Wildlife Conservation Association, China Small Animal Protection Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Afforestation.

The number of participants was almost 100 from 30 groups. Three other  IAF member organizations attended - China Tian Dao Falconry Association, Taiwanese Association for Falconry Culture and Raptor Conservation and Thai Hawkmaster.

There was a working lunch on the first day with the organizer and officials of government authorities. The main topic was consideration of the recognition of falconry in China as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. The attitude of the organizers and officials was positive to arrange the proposal to UNESCO before 2020.

The festival was open to the public on the second day. The festival was great success. It will be significant step for the Chinese falconry in the future. We are deeply grateful to the organizer and staff who had a huge effort and support to achieve the festival.

by Dr, Keiya Nakajima, IAF Vice-president for Asia

From left to right: Mr. Guanyang Chen, Head of CFHCA; Mme. Xiaoting Wang, Secretary-general of China Wildlife Conservation Society; H.E. Chao Yang, General Director of China Forestry Bureau Wildlife Conservation

Thanks to volunteer translators, this eBulletin is available in other languages. If you would like to take part in these translations, email info@iaf.org . 

Grupo de Trabajo Latino America

At the 2015 IAF Council of Delegates meeting, hosted in Posadas, Argentina, a working group was created to support South American falconry, to unite falconers in South America and to foster a stronger and more collaborative relationship with IAF. To this effect, Henrique Rezende was named coordinator for the initial phase and a representative was selected for each country among those present to support these efforts.

May of 2018 saw the formalization of this working group through the creation of GTLA (Grupo de Trabajo Latino America), dedicated to creating closer ties among the Latin American falconry community within the context of IAF exchanges. This working group has initiated its work under the guidance of coordinator Leonardo Vargas and contains representatives from all the countries in South America where falconry is practiced.

Photo taken by Jorge Muñoz

Communications have been facilitated through the creation its own Facebook page, logo (pictured above, with link) and WhatsApp chat, within which similar challenges and opportunities have already brought the members together. The challenges facing falconry in most Latin American countries are very similar as falconers and raptor enthusiasts fight environmental degradation, nest robbing, smuggling, persecution of raptors and pressures from authorities against legitimate falconers.

Among the first tasks that this working group has set itself is the compiling of information on the legal status and the general situation for falconry in each country. A comprehensive list of this is being collated and will be presented at this year’s Council of delegates meeting in Bamberg. The working group has been divided into five task groups, they are: General Logistics, Exchanges, Scientific Activities, Information Distribution and Young Falconers of Latin America.

Successful in person meetings of some of the members at the falconry meetings in March in Mexico and in July in Paraguay highlighted the potential for more falconry in Latin America and encouraged exchanges of information and the state of conversation for species such as Isidor's eagles, orange breasted falcons and ornate hawk eagles, species which have not debuted as significantly in recorded falconry literature or practice, but which may have significant potential for falconry and which would benefit from conservation, education and habitat preservation measures.

An urgent message from the Czech Republic

Recently (in the last two weeks) quite a significant number of goshawks (falconry birds) have died or are fighting for life. At the moment I know about 8 goshawks dead and 5 nearly dead (only in two weeks time). Most of them show similar signs - showing symptoms of West Nile Virus. Some have different problems that we relate to long lasting high temperatures. In all the speed of the "disease" is very fast.  

The weather  has been very very bad the whole summer. No rain and temperatures over 30 C for the last four weeks. The affected individuals are both young and adult goshawks, males and females.

We (goshawkers) closely know each other and have decided to send all dead hawks for autopsy. Previously not many falconers did that as it is expensive. I only heard about goshawks, no problems with other species (falcons, eagles, harris hawks).

I would like to ask you to forward this message to with a request to send me information if other countries have similar problems tkunca@gmail.com . As soon as I get some information from the vet, I will inform you.

Thank you, Tomas Kunca

2018 International Journal of Falconry is available. Please click image to order in advance.

Dates of the IAF Council of Delegates Meeting 2018 – Bamberg, Germany, hosted by DFO

IAF Board and Advisory Committee meeting - Sunday 21st October (closed, or by  invitation of IAF President). 

IAF Council of Delegates Meeting - Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd October (open to Board, Advisory Committee, IAF Individual Subscribers and others by special invitation of the President of IAF)

Venue for all the meetings: Welcome Kongresshotel Bamberg, Mußstraße 7, 96047 Bamberg

At this meeting we will celebrate 50 years of IAF. The oldest photo of an IAF group that we have found in the archives is from 1988, only thirty years old. Do you have an older one? info@iaf.org

IAF Young Falconers Group IAF 50th Anniversary Video

Homage “50 years of IAF... and it's just the beginning!”. Following the astounding success of the last Falconry Festival, the main theme will be “young falconers from all over the world”.

Please make a short video, everyone under 30 can participate with no restrictions, as always, the very nature of our art brings people together in unity! Send these videos to - bubobubo49@yahoo.it - by using (if possible) WeTransfer; otherwise you can also send them  through Whatsapp or Facebook. The result of our efforts will be shown for the very first time during our meeting in Germany, so each video should be sent by the end of September. I hope that many of you will participate!

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

Falconry in Algeria

Algeria is the largest country in Africa. It is very encouraging to see the renaissance of falconry there. For many years it has only been possible to see bygone photographs from the 19th and very early 20th century and rare films on ancient film-stock, like this one from 1909

Falconry held on there, by a fragile thread, through the difficult times, and is now enjoying a renaissance, encouraged by the international successes of UNESCO and falconry's general acceptance as a useful conservation tool.

Last year the Mount Amor Falconry Association  joined IAF as a full member and this year the Djelfa Falconers Association,  has applied for IAF membership.

This very positive photograph was taken in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture and the head of the forest and wildlife in the state of  state of Laghouat.

e-Bulletin and eNewsletter Forwarding

If you would like to be added to the IAF Mailing List to receive these eBulletins and eNewsletters please click the button.

Note to Delegates and Club Representatives: please forward these IAF eBulletins to all your members .

Please also feel free to use eBulletin articles in your printed newletters and journals.