* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Top 5 entertainment news: Sandeep Reddy Vanga regrets trimming Animal’s runtime by 7-8 minutes, Akshay Ku – Times of India

    Top 5 Entertainment Highlights: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Reveals Why He Trimmed Animal’s Runtime by 7-8 Minutes, Plus Akshay Ku Updates

    Cote de Pablo reveals how Michael Weatherly used his soap opera roots to put her at ease in “NCIS” love scene – yahoo.com

    Cote de Pablo Reveals How Michael Weatherly’s Soap Opera Background Made Their “NCIS” Love Scene Easier

    City of Pelham announces entertainment district plans for former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre site – WVTM

    Pelham Unveils Exciting New Entertainment District Plans for Former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre Site

    Black Box Players presents ‘The Three Musketeers’ – CBS 19 News

    Experience the Adventure: Black Box Players Bring ‘The Three Musketeers’ to Life!

    AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 1:51 p.m. EDT – Channel 3000

    Entertainment Highlights: Key Updates You Can’t Miss

    ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ casts Anne Hathaway’s love interest replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate – Entertainment Weekly

    Devil Wears Prada 2′ Casts New Love Interest for Anne Hathaway, Replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Behind the Screens: The Impact of Technology on Real Estate – TRREB

    Behind the Screens: How Technology is Transforming the Future of Real Estate

    Sustainserv and Palau Announce Technology Partnership to Leverage Innovative AI Platform to Advance Sustainability Reporting – Business Wire

    Sustainserv and Palau Team Up to Transform Sustainability Reporting with Breakthrough AI Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Top 5 entertainment news: Sandeep Reddy Vanga regrets trimming Animal’s runtime by 7-8 minutes, Akshay Ku – Times of India

    Top 5 Entertainment Highlights: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Reveals Why He Trimmed Animal’s Runtime by 7-8 Minutes, Plus Akshay Ku Updates

    Cote de Pablo reveals how Michael Weatherly used his soap opera roots to put her at ease in “NCIS” love scene – yahoo.com

    Cote de Pablo Reveals How Michael Weatherly’s Soap Opera Background Made Their “NCIS” Love Scene Easier

    City of Pelham announces entertainment district plans for former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre site – WVTM

    Pelham Unveils Exciting New Entertainment District Plans for Former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre Site

    Black Box Players presents ‘The Three Musketeers’ – CBS 19 News

    Experience the Adventure: Black Box Players Bring ‘The Three Musketeers’ to Life!

    AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 1:51 p.m. EDT – Channel 3000

    Entertainment Highlights: Key Updates You Can’t Miss

    ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ casts Anne Hathaway’s love interest replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate – Entertainment Weekly

    Devil Wears Prada 2′ Casts New Love Interest for Anne Hathaway, Replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Behind the Screens: The Impact of Technology on Real Estate – TRREB

    Behind the Screens: How Technology is Transforming the Future of Real Estate

    Sustainserv and Palau Announce Technology Partnership to Leverage Innovative AI Platform to Advance Sustainability Reporting – Business Wire

    Sustainserv and Palau Team Up to Transform Sustainability Reporting with Breakthrough AI Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home General

Falcon trafficking soars in Middle East, fueled by conflict and poverty

August 10, 2023
in General
Falcon trafficking soars in Middle East, fueled by conflict and poverty
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Worth thousands of dollars, migratory falcons are increasingly targeted by trappers in the Middle East, notably in Syria, where their value skyrocketed during the war.In Jordan, Iraq and Syria, authorities struggle to contain trafficking, which takes place nearly in the open; in Iraq and Syria, wildlife protection is hardly a priority given prevalent political instability and spiraling poverty.Experts say the capture and trade of falcons is driving the decline of wild populations in the Middle East.This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.

ZARQA GOVERNORATE, Jordan; ERBIL, Iraq; QAMISHLI, Syria — In the darkness of a small, windowless room, half a dozen falcons were perched on low wooden stools, their eyes covered with leather hoods. Crouching on the sand-covered floor, their caretaker gently unhooded some of the birds, which stretched their wings cautiously.

For most of them, free flight was a distant memory.

Most of the falcons had recently been rescued from traffickers by Jordanian authorities and placed in the care of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), the main conservation NGO in Jordan, which runs a raptor rehabilitation center in the desert. The RSCN closely controls access to the center, and Mongabay is withholding its exact location to minimize the risk of someone targeting the birds.

“The center is very remote, and we’ve had cases where people show up there with guns in the middle of the night,” Nashat Hamidan, a conservationist with the RSCN who helped establish the rehabilitation center, told Mongabay from his office at the RSCN’s Amman headquarters in May. “Some owners will do anything in their power to get them back,” he added, referring to the falcons, some of which can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

When Mongabay visited the center in March 2022, it held around half a dozen raptors. Most had been seized at borders or airports, either from visiting falconers who were bringing them to Jordan to hunt but didn’t have the right documentation, or from traffickers trying to smuggle the birds through the country.

A rescued falcon, likely a peregrineA rescued falcon, likely a peregrine (Falco peregrinus) or a captive-bred hybrid thereof, at the RSCN raptor rehabilitation center in Jordan in March 2022. Image by Lyse Mauvais for Mongabay.

Falcons seized by customs often stay in the RSCN’s care for several months or years until a court issues a decision to either return them to their owners or hand them over to the RSCN permanently.

The latter decision usually marks the start of a long and risky rehabilitation process. For weeks, RSCN staff teach the falcon to forget the human hand that recently fed it. Then comes the release into the wild.

“When we do a falcon release, it’s like being on a CIA mission,” Hamidan said. “We head out to the release site at dawn, making sure no one knows where we are going, even our own staff. We do all this so that no one knows where the falcons are released, so people don’t try to recapture them.”

Falcons are in high demand in wealthy Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Falconry, the practice of hunting with falcons, has long been a popular sport there. Wild-caught peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and saker (F. cherrug) falcons are especially sought after by falconers, who prize them for their hunting skills.

But wild falcon populations have declined in many parts of the world over the past century due to various factors, including pesticide use, habitat degradation and overhunting. Saker falcons are now globally endangered according to the IUCN Red List, and sooty falcons (F. concolor) and red-footed falcons (F. vespertinus) are critically endangered around the Mediterranean. Fueled by rising oil wealth in the Gulf since the 1980s, falcon trapping undoubtedly plays a role in the birds’ demise: a 2022 IUCN report found that trapping and hunting threatened more than 40 species of raptors nesting around the Mediterranean, making it the most common threat to birds of prey in the region.

To counter this decline, the international trade in wild falcons has long been restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Falconers can buy captive-bred birds instead, but many still seek out wild-caught falcons, which are seen as better hunters. And despite international efforts to protect them, trafficking remains prevalent in the Middle East and notably in Syria, where 12 years of war and economic crisis have made the falcon business more lucrative than ever.

Shaumari Wildlife Reserve in Jordan. Shaumari Wildlife Reserve in Jordan. The flat, semiarid plains of eastern Jordan and Syria are prime hunting grounds for falcon trappers. Image by Lyse Mauvais for Mongabay.

The capital of falcons

Falcon trapping developed on a large scale in Syria in the 1980s due to rising demand from the Gulf. Local trappers based in Syria’s northeast, a flat and semiarid region particularly suitable for hunting falcons, told Mongabay their business emerged out of interactions with falconers from the Gulf, who taught them how to catch the birds.

This knowledge quickly spread, and within a few decades Syria had become a regional hub of the falcon business, despite being a party to CITES. By 2009, the Syrian city of al-Rahiba, known locally as the “capital of falcons,” hosted at least 170 people involved in falconry or falcon trading. Catching wild falcons is illegal in Syria, as well as other countries in the region, but penalties were weak and poorly enforced. Legal loopholes meant traders were allowed to deal birds in the open for the domestic market, although exporting them was officially outlawed.

Ornithologists who worked in Syria in the 2000s recall that hunting was already very popular by then. “Everyone in the countryside was involved in falconry — either in trapping, training or smuggling falcons,” said Hamidan as he recalled his visit to Sabkhat al-Jabbul Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site. “In one village, we saw a group of 40 hunters on motorcycles following a falcon! Once, we even had to prevent our guide in the reserve, a conservation guide, from tipping off his friends when he spotted one.”

This hunting frenzy was driven by the high price people were willing to pay for falcons. The trade was so lucrative that some Syrian trappers even started hunting abroad, following the birds to their nesting grounds in Central Asia. To this day, gyrfalcon (F. rusticolus) poachers are still nicknamed “Syrians” in Russia, a reference to the prevalence of Syrian trappers who pioneered the practice in the country.

Falcons are hooded, sedated and wrapped before being smuggled out of Syria, as shown in this image from a falcon trapper.Falcons are hooded, sedated and wrapped before being smuggled out of Syria, as shown in this image from a falcon trapper. Image by Anonymous.

Soaring prices

When the Syrian civil war started in 2011, it affected the local falcon industry along with the rest of society. In certain parts of Syria, hunters could no longer travel to their preferred hunting grounds. Some areas became too dangerous due to the presence of various militias; others were heavily mined.

“The crisis affected everyone, hunters included. Trappers couldn’t go to areas where there was fighting and security issues,” Fayez al-Hassouni, a bird trader based in northeastern Syria, told Mongabay in April. Trafficking networks were also disrupted: Rahiba, the falcon capital, is still controlled by the Syrian government, while many hunting grounds are in areas controlled by non-state groups, and trade between these zones is treacherous and requires expensive bribes to navigate.

Despite these challenges, falcon poaching continued throughout the war, and even increased.

“The price of birds vastly increased, so a lot of new people entered this field and started trapping,” al-Hassouni said. War and international sanctions have plunged the country into deep economic crisis. One U.S. dollar, worth 50 Syrian pounds before the war, now trades on the black market for 12,000 pounds as of July 2023.

Since falcons are bought in dollars by the final buyers in the Gulf, their value skyrocketed in recent years. According to Abu Saddam, a hunter from northeastern Syria with 20 years of experience catching falcons, this has led to an unprecedented surge in trapping. “Over the past four years, the number of people trapping falcons really increased due to good prices,” he told Mongabay, requesting we use only his given name due to security concerns. “Even people who don’t know anything about hunting started to go out and try their luck.”

Abu Saddam, right, with fellow hunters from al-Tash, Syria, in April 2023. Abu Saddam, right, with fellow hunters from al-Tash, Syria, in April 2023. Image by Lyse Mauvais for Mongabay.

When Mongabay met Abu Saddam in April in his native village of al-Tash, he showed us a young peregrine falcon caught a few days prior. He said he expected the bird would sell for around $10,000. In this remote village, where most families live in modest mud-brick houses and make a meager living from farming and herding, each catch is an unexpected blessing for the entire community. Trappers usually hunt in groups of five to 10 or more, splitting hunting expenses as well as profits.

The price of a bird varies widely depending on its size, age and species, but it usually represents a fortune locally. Ali, another hunter based in the south of the country who requested Mongabay use only his given name citing security concerns, told Mongabay that 14 falcons were caught last fall in his village. Each sold for a good price, ranging from $1,600 to $30,000.

But it’s not just about money. Over the years, what started as a lucrative business has become an integral part of the region’s heritage, a passion transmitted from father to son that falcon hunters see as a way to reconnect with nature. The activity is also intimately linked to a certain vision of masculinity, associated with resilience and the ability to survive in the desert.

“It’s an addiction that runs deep in our veins,” Abu Saddam said. “Even if the birds didn’t sell for a good price, I would still hunt them.”

Leather hoods are used to cover falcons’ eyes to keep the birds calm. Leather hoods are used to cover falcons’ eyes to keep the birds calm. Image by Lyse Mauvais for Mongabay.

A regional problem

As trapping intensifies, trading networks across Syria have reconfigured to adapt. Hunters and traders told Mongabay most of the falcons are still sent to Rahiba, although they must now cross multiple checkpoints to enter government-controlled areas. From Rahiba, they’re sent by plane to the Gulf via Lebanon or smuggled through neighboring Iraq and Jordan. Alternative routes have also emerged: some traders based in northeastern Syria send the birds directly to neighboring Iraq and then on to the Gulf.

Rampant trafficking in Syria has regional implications, since Jordan and Iraq are both overland transit routes for Syrian-caught falcons. But they’re also trapping hubs themselves, and the two countries struggle to control poaching in their own territory.

An Egyptian vulture An Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), an endangered species, for sale at the Souq al-Ghazal wildlife market in Baghdad, Iraq. Inexperienced hunters sometimes capture and attempt to sell this and other bird species that are not used in falconry. Image by Laith Ali al-Obaidi.

Jordanian trappers mostly hunt in the country’s eastern Jaffar Desert, where authorities have a limited reach. “There is no police in these areas, there are no rangers,” Fares Khoury, the founder and president of Jordan BirdWatch, told Mongabay. “These areas are known for having a lot of trapping going on, but no one goes and talks to these people.”

Khoury spent several weeks in the Jordanian desert with trappers to study their hunting practices. He said poaching has taken a noticeable toll on falcons and other raptors, as he reported in a 2020 paper based on his time with the trappers.

“It’s totally uncontrolled. We don’t even have accurate numbers on how many are being trapped in Jordan and in the region,” Khoury said. “And it’s also encouraging people to trap other birds. The lanner [F. biarmicus] and barbary [F. peregrinus pelegrinoides] falcon. And these are becoming very rare, or even extinct in Jordan.”

In Iraq, falcon trading is a booming business taking place almost in the open. In cities like Baghdad and the northern provincial capitals of Duhok and Sulaymaniyah, protected wildlife is sold in open-air markets, including raptor chicks and endangered Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus), which inexperienced hunters sometimes confuse with falcons.

Like Syria, divided by 12 years of conflict, Iraq is reeling from decades of war and political instability. Wildlife protection is hardly a priority, and the logistical challenges of controlling remote corners of the country, where local elites wield more power than the central government, are immense.

But with trappers in Iraq and Syria willing to edge into minefields to catch falcons, better law enforcement likely won’t be enough to keep poachers in check. As large chunks of the region’s population spiral into poverty, the only realistic way to tackle trafficking in the coming years may be on the demand side: cracking down on wealthy falconers who, for the love of these birds, are willing to risk driving them to extinction.

‘It’s just a bird’: Online platforms selling lesser-known Indonesian species

Citations:

Khoury, F., Makarevicz, C., Al-Hmoud, A.-R., & Mithin, S. (2020) The illegal trapping of large falcons in Jordan. Sandgrouse, 42(2), 239-247. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353841157_The_illegal_trapping_of_large_falcons_in_Jordan

Westrip, J. R. S., Burfield, I. J., Allen, D. J., & Numa, C. (2022). The Conservation Status of Breeding Raptors in the Mediterranean. IUCN, Málaga, Spain. Retrieved from https://www.iucn.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/raptors-mediterranean-2022_compressed.pdf

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the editor of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Environmental Politics, Forests, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Pet Trade, Rainforest Animals, Rainforest Biodiversity, Rainforests, Raptors, Regulations, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking

Print

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : MongaBay – https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/falcon-trafficking-soars-in-middle-east-fueled-by-conflict-and-poverty/

Previous Post

Zika, dengue transmission expected to rise with climate change

Next Post

NBC’s Todd: ‘I Guess Greg Abbott Was Right’ that Dems Would Turn on Biden when They Had to Deal with Migrants

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

July 27, 2025
At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

July 27, 2025
Return of wolves to Yellowstone has led to a surge in aspen trees unseen for 80 years – Live Science

Wolves’ Return to Yellowstone Sparks Unprecedented Aspen Tree Boom After 80 Years

July 27, 2025
‘Bluey’ Is Growing Up: BBC Plots All-Ages Expansion For The Franchise As A Full-Fledged Lifestyle Brand – Cartoon Brew

‘Bluey’ Is Growing Up: BBC Plots All-Ages Expansion For The Franchise As A Full-Fledged Lifestyle Brand – Cartoon Brew

July 27, 2025
Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh and a race for the ages at World Swimming Championships – NBC Sports

Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh Ignite an Epic Showdown at the World Swimming Championships

July 27, 2025
5 ways Trump has shaped the economy in 6 months – The Hill

5 Game-Changing Ways Trump Transformed the Economy in Just 6 Months

July 27, 2025
Flutter Entertainment Announces Pricing Of $1.272 Bln Of Additional Senior Secured Notes Due 2031 – Nasdaq

Flutter Entertainment Raises $1.27 Billion in Major Senior Secured Notes Offering Due 2031

July 27, 2025
KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Views on Recent Tax and Budget Legislation – KFF

How the Public Really Feels About the Latest Tax and Budget Changes

July 27, 2025
Dollar falls against yen as markets weigh new trade deal, Japanese politics – Reuters

Dollar falls against yen as markets weigh new trade deal, Japanese politics – Reuters

July 27, 2025
Clinch County Schools prepare for students’ return with new policies, technology – WALB

Clinch County Schools Prepare for Students’ Return with Exciting New Policies and Cutting-Edge Technology

July 27, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (741)
  • Economy (765)
  • Entertainment (21,645)
  • General (16,133)
  • Health (9,803)
  • Lifestyle (773)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (767)
  • Politics (774)
  • Science (15,980)
  • Sports (21,262)
  • Technology (15,746)
  • World (748)

Recent News

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

July 27, 2025
At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

July 27, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version