12 countries want falconry as world's intangible heritage

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12 countries want falconry as world's intangible heritage

Wed, Aug 19 09:17 PM

Abu Dhabi, Aug 19 (IANS) Twelve countries, including the United Arab Emirates

(UAE), have proposed falconry to be included as a world intangible heritage at

the UNESCO, WAM news agency reported Wednesday.

 

Falconry or hawking is a sport that involves the use of trained raptors (birds

of prey) to hunt or pursue game for humans.

 

Twelve countries, including the UAE, Syria, Saudi Arabia, France, the Czech

Republic, Slovakia, Mongolia and South Korea, have signed a paper at the end of

a two-day workshop here, to be submitted at the Unesco for registering the sport

as world intangible heritage.

 

The workshop was organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage

(ADACH).

 

The paper will be submitted at the Unesco (United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization) by August-end, the report said.

 

One main objective of the move is to promote awareness at the local, regional

and global levels the importance of falconry as a world heritage, ADACH Director

General Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei said.

 

'It will encourage states to adopt strategies and action plans to protect this

human heritage, granting it total legitimacy in accordance to the principles of

sustainable hunting,' he said.

 

Thank you for your compassion !

With best regards,

Debasis Chakrabarti

Compassionate Crusaders Trust

http://www.animalcrusaders.org

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>Abu Dhabi, Aug 19 (IANS) Twelve countries, including the United Arab

>Emirates (UAE), have proposed falconry to be included as a world

>intangible heritage at the UNESCO

 

The story behind the story is that falconry has increasingly

been recognized in recent years as a vector for transmitting diseases

such as H5N1 avian flu back & forth between domestic poultry and wild

birds.

 

Falconry is also a major threat to the survival of wild

raptor populations in several parts of the world, due to

nest-raiding by falconers.

 

Trafficking in falcons is among the most lucrative

specialties in illegal wildlife commerce.

 

Falconers are directly to blame for extirpating the great

bustard from much of Central Asia, depleting the wildlife of parts

of Egypt and Ethiopia, and wreaking considerable ecological havoc in

other places, as well.

 

In short, the quest for " world intangible heritage " status

is a quest for cover for activities which might be close to abolition

if some of the leading practitioners did not happen to own a hell of

a lot of petroleum.

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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