Since its formation in 2002, the American Falconry Conservancy has accomplished a great deal.
As of 2016
Through our efforts and the hard work of some Minnesota falconers, the best State in the Union for trapping passage goshawks was opened for non-resident raptor take.
Through our efforts, South Dakota – an excellent State in the lower 48 for trapping gyrs – was opened for non-resident raptor take.
Through our efforts, Alaska – the best State in the Union for taking gyrs and peregrines – has been opened for non-resident raptor take.
Several years ago when no one was pursuing non-resident raptor take in closed States, we initiated the thrust with falconers in Colorado, Nebraska, and Montana, by communicating with the then current club Presidents, to open their doors to non-residents. Those and subsequent Presidents put the issue before their members who agreed to work on this noble goal. Colorado, Nebraska, and Montana have successfully included a non-resident take provision in their new regulations due to AFC. It is largely unknown that AFC initiated this effort in these three States. We worked behind the scenes in the hope that residents would embrace the idea themselves – and they did!
We have retained the finest legal counsel in the Country, William Horn, in wildlife law. He was previously Assistant Secretary for the Dept. of the Interior under President Reagan.
We objected to the FWS’s inclusion of the authority to inspect falconers’ facilities when the Proposed Falconry Regulations were published. FWS took this objection to the Department of Justice, which stated that when FWS gave up the permitting authority, they gave up the power for FWS to inspect. However, FWS illegally included language in the regulations that requires States to assert the authority to conduct warrantless inspections.
Through our legal counsel, we objected to the FWS stating in the Draft Environmental Assessment and the Proposed Propagation Regulations that our raptors are not our private property but remain the property of the State or the Federal government. They withdrew this position and Dr. George Allen of FWS retracted this stance and admitted that FWS was wrong and in fact, our raptors, both wild and domestic bred, are indeed private property.
Through our legal counsel, we objected to the FWS limiting the number of raptors we can possess in the Proposed Falconry Regulations. In the Final Falconry Regulations, they removed restrictions on domestic-bred birds and now we may possess as many as we are able to fly.
We have assisted several States with comments on delisting peregrines.
There are a variety of other issues that we have helped resolve with State and Federal agencies. One was an attempt by the U.S. Forest Service to prohibit take of eyass raptors in a federal park in Kentucky. Through well-connected individuals, we were able to prevent this from happening.
We have helped some State falconry organizations in writing proposed language for their falconry regulations.
You may ask, “What are you doing for me now?”
We are working closely with Dan McCarron (the individual who originally accomplished eagle take in Wyoming) on re-opening eagle take in depredation areas in Wyoming.
We are working on expanding peregrine take to a more sensible number that reflects biology – as is done for every other raptor – rather than politics.
Those who have been confronted by law enforcement and accused of wrongdoing have sought our advice in legal matters. When it is discovered that law enforcement is overreaching their authority, we provide advice, court precedent, and, if needed, connect wronged falconers to legal counsel.
You may ask, “What are you going to do for me in the future?”
Once the new falconry regulations have been adopted by all the States that have a falconry program, we will petition FWS to remove the provision in the falconry regulations that require States to assert the power to conduct warrantless inspections after the permit has been issued to a falconer. This violates the 4th Amendment since it becomes a search after the issuance of the permit; in addition, it demands that falconers supply self-incriminating evidence to their own detriment, which is arguably a 5th Amendment violation. We fully intend on demanding that this provision be removed.
There are numerous provisions in the Federal regulations that are offensive to citizens’ rights and which are not asserted against citizens for any other activity in this country. We intend to incrementally get these removed over time until our regulations reflect a sensible and constitutional approach to raptor management.
We may never know what the future may hold. Law enforcement abuse, while perhaps not common, is always a concern. In addition, animal rights groups threaten our very existence as an art and sport. We must be vigilant and organized, ready to take action at a moment’s notice and this can only be done by an association of falconers dedicated to the proposition that falconry is a RIGHT, not a privilege, to be practice freely and without interference from anyone.
We would not have been able to accomplish our victories without the active support of our membership. In addition, we will not be able to continue our work without the support of a robust membership. It allows us to procure the legal representation to move forward expeditiously on matters that affect our right to practice our art and sport. We believe that actively maintaining open lines of communication with our membership is what has been responsible for our continued growth. We hope this trend continues unabated!