Falconry as a Source of Livelihood and Conservation
by Kamran Khan Yousafzai

Geographically, Pakistan lies at the very heart of important migration routes of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF). The number of migratory birds wintering and breeding in Pakistan is simply mind-blowing. There are a number of birds of prey and gamebird species that arrive in the country on the onset of the autumn season. It’s no wonder then the art of falconry has strong roots in Pakistan and like anywhere else, it has been practiced with great fanfare by the locals since immemorial times. The field sport of falconry has a long history in South Asia in general and in Pakistan in particular. The hawk or falcon has been glorified for its high qualities in poetry and literature by renowned men of letters like Allama Iqbal and Khushal Khan Khattak. The Mughals practiced it with great fanfare for more than three centuries. There are great many number of miniature paintings depicting kings and princess with hawks and Falcons on their fists. Amritsar used to be a great falcon market in the Sub-continent. After the partition, Lahore became the bastion of falconry equipment and trading of falcons, which was admired throughout the world for its high quality. Of late, however, the field sport has been under considerable pressure from some quarters, which begs for a dispassionate approach and a realistic policy.
This negligence on part of the state has resulted in more and more illegal and undercover practices in the field of falconry and has resulted in its negative posturing. To begin with, there are certain species of Raptors that are included in the third schedule of the wildlife laws by the state – a decision that dates back to the Zia era. Among them, the Peregrine (Falco peregrines) and the Saker (Falco cherrug) are noteworthy, which are winter migrants and are highly valued in falconry. Inclusion of these species in the third schedule means that there’s a complete ban on their trapping, training and dealing. Looking at the ground reality, however, the scenario is quite the opposite. Not only hundreds of birds of prey are captured on their migration routes every season but are routinely smuggled out of the country through Iran and Afghanistan boarder against hefty sums, As far as the trapping of birds of prey is concerned, it takes place in all over Pakistan. Due to the lack of a viable policy and effective management, there is a vicious circle consisting of falconers, trappers, dealers, and smugglers at present. And this is what that has given the otherwise noble sport a bad name.
During the process, the trappers get exploited at the hands of the middlemen. Many birds also die due to the ill treatment they suffer during the smuggling process. Even when these birds are caught by the customs officials at airports or on the road by the wildlife authorities, the authorities have little or no falconry knowledge about the proper handling of the birds of prey, its diet, flying weight, releasing sites and methods etc. All this results in more suffering to the bird. The picture is quite dismal, while on the one hand there’s a lot of illegal trapping and smuggling taking place in the country, on the other the government is absolutely powerless to regulate
the activity in a meaningful way. There are two ways to cope up with the situation: either to close our eyes to the foul practice and keep on with the status quo or to devise an innovative and pragmatic policy with the aim of sustainable biodiversity, local livelihood and revenue generation.
A case could be made while keeping in mind the model of Markhor trophy hunting. It should be noted that the Markhor is also a third schedule animal species. But still, international wildlife organizations like the WWF and IUCN not only endorse the practice but also encourage governments to embrace it for the preservation and conservation of endangered animal species. The basic concept of trophy hunting is to discourage illegal hunting and poaching by involving the locals in a meaningful way and directing their energies toward a positive end. This is done by allocating a certain annual hunting quota through transparent bidding. A major chunk of the funds thus generated goes to the local population, where the hunting activity takes place, while the government also has its share of the revenue in the process. The trophy hunting is a success story since the locals have a livelihood stake. So not only the locals diligently protect the concerned wildlife in their areas in the breeding season, but also inform the authorities of illegal poaching, if there’s any.
The need of the hour is to take the local falconers on board, benefit from their knowledge and experience, and to direct their energies toward a positive end. The involvement of the local falconer community by the government in the formulation of a viable policy has multiple and manifold advantages. First of all, it would bring into the loop the hitherto undocumented number of trappers, who are otherwise exploited by the spineless dealers and smugglers. Second, the trappers and falconers will have a legitimate source of livelihood through government incentives and legal bidding of birds in the international market. Third, the trappers/falconers will provide the government with credible count of the migrating birds and help it with data collection, which so far has been a great handicap.
Fourth, by streamlining and legalizing the sport and wild take of birds of prey, there will be less and less chances of illegal trade and smuggling, which is a stigma on our national pride. DNA banking, data justification, population genetics, rehabilitation and conservation of endangered species of raptors are also some of the areas where knowledge of the local falconers could be utilized. On a tentative basis, the government can formulate a two-year survey program, in which the mapping along with census of the falconers, trappers, trapping sites, dealers, and breeding areas throughout the country should be carried out. This survey should also record the whole spectrum of existing migration routes.
To sum up, in order to preserve the centuries-old tradition of falconry and to conserve the birds of prey species, the governments need to regulate the whole area through effective policy making and pragmatic steps. For this, the involvement of the actual stakeholders is vital and every step should be taken to take them on board. Community mobilization, sensitization, awareness on protection and conservation and birds of prey management to initiate a village based conservation initiatives aimed at protecting and conservation of falcons and associated biodiversity, while benefiting humans at the same time. Limited licenses may be sold to trappers, with revenue from trapping fees returning to the communities. The yearly trapping falcon in Pakistan is anticipated to be highly valued by local communities and would act as a major economic and conservation incentive. The value of trapping in conservation is the fact that trappers are prepared to pay relatively large amounts of money for the privilege of trapping falcons.
That some rural communities are traditional dependents on CITES-listed species for their livelihood. In case of Pakistan, this is absolutely true in the country, trapping and trade of falcons including Saker Falcon is rooted in economic, social and cultural drivers. For ensuring the interest of the rural communities and without affecting their traditional source of livelihood, Communities awarded quota for legal trapping and trade of Falcon. The community may trap, trade and traffic allotted number of birds at national and international market. WildLife Department can be involved in allocation of quota on annual basis after careful assessment of the inventory of the birds of prey. A reward to the services rendered by the community may be awarded with license for of certain percentage for trapping, trafficking and trade of the falcon at national and international market by National WildLife Department of the Government. A Birds of Prey Trapping Programme, the legally trapped birds may be offered in international market for sale/bids. The value of trapping in conservation is the fact that falconers are prepared to pay relatively large amount of money for birds legally traded in international market. The plan includes some portion of the money may be utilized to conserve the population or area from which the Falcons are taken which will give sustainability to the programme. The revenue of the birds may be shared in the following ratio among the stakeholders as community @ 70%, Government @ 20%, and NGO’s @ 10%. The community share may be spent by the Village Organizations for social sector development, such as education, health, community small infrastructure, safe drinking water etc. Some percentage of the community share may be given in the Village Conservation Fund. The intended purpose of the VCF is to pay for conservation actions and social benefits that foster community support for conservation of biodiversity.
The upshot is that the knowledge of the falconer community could be utilized in a positive way and their energies directed toward the goal of conservation and protection, if the governments support and comes up with a concrete program. This will guarantee not only livelihood for the locals but also revenues for the state and respect from the global wildlife entities.

The writer is the president of Pakistan Falconry Association & Officer to South Asia International Association for Falconry & Conservation Birds of Prey.