Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train.
Acquiring a falconry license in the United States requires an aspiring falconer to pass a written test, have equipment and facilities inspected, and serve a minimum of two years as an apprentice under a licensed falconer, during which time, the apprentice falconer may only possess one raptor. There are three classes of the falconry license, which is a permit issued jointly by the falconer's state of residence and the federal government. The aforementioned Apprentice license matriculates to a General Class license, which allows the falconer to up to three raptors at one time. After a minimum of five years at General level, falconers may apply for a Master Class license, which allows them to keep up to five wild raptors for falconry and an unlimited number of captively-produced raptors. (All must be used for falconry.) Certain highly experienced master falconers may also apply to possess golden eagles for falconry.
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So you,
-need to be licensed
-capture your raptor from the wild
-train it to kill/capture other animals
-are limited by your license by how many raptors you can own or breed
...
I am familiar with the Peregrine falcon, an endangered species with a long breeding program, and was unaware that there was any
capture involve with the falconry sport. The capture + train aspect is what differentiates this from pets or domestication, and you could really battle another falconer's raptor should you be into that.