HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS - State wildlife managers gave preliminary approval Wednesday to allowing falconers to capture a legendary bird, known as the world's fastest animal, that has survived a brush with extinction: the peregrine falcon.
Despite opposition from environmental groups, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission directed its staff to set fee and license requirements for final approval in December.
The potential number of captured falcons — as many as five in Florida — is a fraction of the thousands that migrate to the state from as far away as Alaska, Canada and Greenland. But the issue touches on the emotional tension that can arise when a high-profile wild creature is allowed to be taken into captivity — and when humans begin "harvesting" a species that had been the focus of an intense and decades-long recovery effort.
Eric Edwards of the Florida Falconry Association said falconers were instrumental in the peregrine's recovery because they placed captive-bred falcons in the wild. Now, with the bird considered safe from extinction, falconers hope to resume a sport that goes back thousands of years.
Edwards noted that when a falconer releases a falcon for a hunt, the raptor climbs hundreds of feet, appearing as no more than a speck.
"If the bird isn't happy, the bird isn't coming back," he said.
Linda Bystrak of the Oklawaha Valley Audubon Society countered that falconers weren't alone in helping the bird recover in the wild.
"Hundreds of volunteers, including myself, have spent time and money putting out nesting platforms for these birds, monitoring them and even rehabilitating them ... only to have them harvested for enjoyment of a few falconers," Bystrak said.
By the late 1960s, falcons were in serious trouble, falling victim to the pesticides DDT and Dieldrin, which caused thinning of their eggshells. Banning the chemicals was key to the birds' recovery.
Federal authorities have granted authority in roughly the eastern half of the nation to allow the annual taking of 36 falcons. This fall, falconers in nine states from Texas to Maryland will capture birds. The soonest Florida could take part is next fall. Under the rules, only juvenile birds — hatched in May or June — can be captured. Falconers often use nets and a pigeon as a lure.
Brian Millsap, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deputy regional director, said the falcon population is healthy and continues to grow.
"We calculate that right now, today, we could probably allow a harvest of up to 17 percent of all the peregrines," Millsap said. "The harvest levels that we've proposed are actually only about 2 to 3 percent. The numbers being removed are so small you couldn't measure any impact."
Falconers want wild birds because they are more athletic and more skilled at hunting than falcons born in captivity.
They fly to great heights, where they fold themselves into free-falling missiles that can reach speeds of 200 mph or more.
Jennifer Hobgood, Florida director for the Humane Society of the United States, said her group strongly opposes taking falcons from the wild because the practice inflicts "stress and cruelty" on the birds "for no more reason than entertainment."
A key issue left unresolved Wednesday was the status of falcon monitoring at Curry Hammock State Park in the Florida Keys. Bird counts started there in 1999 and continued until last year, when funds — $25,000 annually — ran out.
Julie Wraithmell, Audubon of Florida wildlife policy coordinator, urged the state wildlife agency to restart the monitoring because of the many challenges falcons face, including pollution, habitat loss and, now, harvesting by humans.
She recommended that at least some of the cost be covered by a fee for falcon harvesting — an idea that the falconers rejected.
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The stores are setting up for 
already...pathetic.
what does he think...I'm a Wood Duck"??
good for you. Thanks for your observations. 
