Valkenswaard

People often talk of the quality of our sport, the artistic aspects as they perceive them, all seen in the light of our current values and society in which they live. Much comment seems to look at characters who lived a century or five centuries ago describing them as they fit into current perspective of values, with the assumption that this man was motivated by today's values, defining his actions by modern secular and scientific perspectives. This may also be applied to people from different cultures today but reality can be very different? If we could meet that man from 5 centuries ago or even a man today from another culture or religion his explanations might be very different from our expectations. This past week we have been looking into some of the historical aspects of falconry in Europe in the company of falconers from all over the world.

As is recognised by all its citizens, Valkenswaard in the Netherlands, owes its very existence to falconry. From 1550 until 1928 the Mollen family and others created an economy by  trapping and distribution of migrating falcons and hawks traded to much of Europe and even further. The soil in this area, like the Brecks of my native Norfolk, is almost pure sand  with the consequence that any agriculture is wholly dependent upon whatever manure and plant food can be applied. Before 1550 both areas were in great poverty  but in Valkenswaard it was later transformed by this new economy,  trapping falcons, supplying most of the royal houses of Europe.

Later the connection between the two areas grew when Hawks were supplied to the Confederate Hawking Club and then also when the Champagne Club moved to Norfolk at the time of the Franco Prussian War. Dutch Falconers were employed and then eventually the whole operation was transferred to the Loo in Holland in formation of the new club.

Today we are far removed from the constraints of that era with mobility and technology that transforms our way of life and distances us from nature in ways that our awareness finds hard to comprehend. This week I fulfilled my long held inquisitiveness when I attended the IAF AGM hosted in this historic town for falconers worldwide. We were generously welcomed in Valkenswaard, hosted in the town museum and civic centre, addressed by the mayor, whose chain of office has the image of a Peregrine falcon engraved in celebration of their heritage. Many of the roads were bedecked with flags depicting falcons and the IAF, how welcome we all felt.

Our way of life came alive for the local population when falconers from 40 or so countries around the world came together for the annual meeting of the IAF. Guest of our president was His Excellency Mohamed al Bowadi of the UAE who in his address to our meeting ably voiced the real essence that has been falconry for thousands of years.

 "We are all here because of an innate sense of purpose, a goal to protect the species that we love, and the long established tradition of falconry. In this journey we have unknowingly enriched who we are as humans, and as such as humanity.

We have crossed borders, bridged nations and creeds. This journey has allowed us as a community, to achieve what some may say, were far-fetched conservation dreams."

Recognition by UNESCO of the intangible cultural heritage of falconry in many countries defines and recalls the context for our way of life which gives us the privilege of our model of behaviour and values, close to nature and aspects of our own being otherwise confusing,  seemingly distant from modern society's  priorities. His Excellency went on the say:

 "I am standing here as a man and as a falconer. For many of us being a falconer and a person is the same thing, as the values, ethics, moral standards we strive for as people are the ones we abide by as falconers. To be a falconer is to embody the value of respect, resilience, tolerance, ambition, patience and humility. These values are universal and so is falconry."

Museum staff organised for us a practical demonstration of the trapping procedures at the traditional location where migratory hawks and falcons converge on the heath from all over northern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia in the autumn season as they head south. Of course this process is reversed in the spring when hawks return to their breeding areas.

Today, in countries where trapping is legal, it's a relatively simple process to drive around with traps at the ready and attract the chosen species. In the days of trapping at Valkenswaard it was a far more ingenious process requiring great dedication and patience, the help of a butcher bird, trained falcons and much good fortune to attract a passing falcon to the trap.

During our meeting it was fascinating to watch a presentation by Turkish falconers showing their traditional trapping of migrating Sparrowhawks which they rapidly train to catch migrating quail after which, when their sport is done, the hawks are returned to the wild to resume their journey. In national costume their traditional songs were stirring in many ways, touching feelings not far removed from my own daily falconry experience.  But we are all falconers in this world together with many shared values as His Excellency had reminded us - certainly it stimulates alternative viewpoints, creates respect and appreciation far removed from some of the more modern aspects with which we also contend.