# I can't believe a falconer could be THIS dumb



## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

I'd never in a million years release my pigeons around that many power lines, what on earth could this guy have been thinking?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8W5myPTupw


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Oh......that is SO horrible, cruelty of the worst kind....ignorance or stupidity he should have been arrested.


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

I cannot believe how stupid this person was. I know raptors are hard on the birds we all love, but this bird was a live creature, something to be respected, possibly admired, and definitely abused. 
Daryl


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2007)

wow that was just down right horrible to watch  that poor bird ,that guy should really have his falconing license taken away


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## Jazicat (Oct 31, 2005)

That's terrible!


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Guilty*



LokotaLoft said:


> wow that was just down right horrible to watch  that poor bird ,that guy should really have his falconing license taken away


 This guy is just as gulity of killing a hawk as the roller guys. He should stand trial and face jail time and a fine the same as anyone else. GEORGE


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Wait I am so confused what happened I saw the bird flying and then it landed on his arm, That is all I saw, It just stopped.


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## Pete Jasinski (Jan 2, 2005)

SkyofAngels said:


> Wait I am so confused what happened I saw the bird flying and then it landed on his arm, That is all I saw, It just stopped.


The rest of the video must haven't finished loading, you're lucky you didn't see the end, I did and I'm just disgusted


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

The poor bird was electrocuted. What a terrible shame for something so beautiful to be killed as a result of human stupidity and vanity. And on top of it, those nitwits even put it to music. 

What fools those men were to fly the bird anywhere near power lines. They looked and sounded very nervous as if someone was trying to get them away from flying the bird where they were. I agree, they should have been charged with a crime.


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## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

SkyofAngels said:


> Wait I am so confused what happened I saw the bird flying and then it landed on his arm, That is all I saw, It just stopped.


The poor thing somehow gets across the poles of a high voltage transformer and gets electrocuted whilst it's two genius handlers (the guy with the glove and the guy with the camera) stand there with dopey looks on their faces.


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## *ADRIAN* (Jun 3, 2005)

thts way too bad man i feel sorry 4 u


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

I am uninformed about the issues of free-flying, so I won't address that.

I don't know much about high power lines and their construction, other than to stay off and away from them until I educate myself accordingly should the need arise. Can't they be made safer for birds of that size? Without "undue cost"? 

I don't think these guys set out to intentionally kill their birds. Costs too much. They may have been simply ignorant, uninformed, misinformed. We all make stupid mistakes. Evidence? We all die, most of us sooner than our potential life span would theoretically allow. (I'm not interested in attributing blame, or arguing the finer points. Just a general catch-all statement that none of us is perfect, that I know of). 

This may seem farfetched, but they may have shown some courage in posting a video showing them making a horrible mistake, risking having themselves look idiotic, callous, ignorant, stupid in the eyes of many, in order to educate other keepers and handlers of birds of prey (not only falconers, but also rescuers and re-habbers) and thus possibly prevent a recurrence of what they experienced. 

I wasn't too fond of the music, but perhaps it encouraged some viewers to watch the video to the end and learn from what happened. 

We are all born stupid, or ignorant at best. Nature doesn't provide us and other creatures with innate knowledge or wisdom, with instincts to avoid some of the apparatuses we build to solve our problems, and which themselves create further problems. 

If I do something stupid, usually I want to hide it from others. If I have graphic documentation of my stupidity, would I have the courage to show it to others if they might benefit? 

On the other hand, I might be so stupid as to not know I did something stupid, and show it anyway, and not benefit from it in any constructive way.

There are many ways we can interpret this video, without possessing all the facts. 

When I'm two or three hundred years old, maybe then I'll be entitled to some bragging rights. Or maybe not.

Larry


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## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

> I don't think these guys set out to intentionally kill their birds. Costs too much. They may have been simply ignorant, uninformed, misinformed.


I don't see how they could have been ignorant, in order to get a falconry license you have to do a year as an apprentice with an experienced falconer and pass a written exam from the gov't. These guys definately knew what they were doing in my opinion.
As far as it costing too much, to the best of my knowledge the birds are trapped in the wild. I believe that it's highly illegal to buy/sell birds of prey. 
These guys are beyond dumb, plain and simple.


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Maybe they weren't licensed !


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

george simon said:


> This guy is just as gulity of killing a hawk as the roller guys. He should stand trial and face jail time and a fine the same as anyone else. GEORGE


Absolutely.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Hello Roxtar,

Thanks for the info. 

When I said the birds "cost too much," I didn't mean just in money terms. Should have elaborated. Also meant in time, effort. Some of the pigeons and other birds we rescue are also "free" in the sense that we simply go out and bring them in, but the money for meds, the research, the worry, and such, all count as costs in a general sense of the word. Some rescuers put in different amounts of time money and effort for different birds, an it can add up to quite a bit. I've lost sleep over some birds (okay, sooner or later we catch up on sleep, but you know what I mean). Maybe those guys caught the bird, had it for a short time, maybe put in more or put in less effort on that particular bird. 

If you have to get a license, et cetera, and do all that you mentioned, it seems that if the guys definitely had to know better, then it seems stupid of them to upload the video. A guy's body and face is identifiable. Maybe one can't legally and technically prove that that particular individual was handling that particular bird at the exact time, could have been an off-screen buddy or a buddy's bird, but, if everything you stated holds true in this case, like the title of your thread states, I [too] can't believe a falconer could be THIS dumb.

Wonder if any legal repercussions from the video will occur.

Larry


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## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

> When I said the birds "cost too much," I didn't mean just in money terms. Should have elaborated. Also meant in time, effort. Some of the pigeons and other birds we rescue are also "free" in the sense that we simply go out and bring them in, but the money for meds, the research, the worry, and such, all count as costs in a general sense of the word.


Point taken. Never thought of it that way.


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## Jazicat (Oct 31, 2005)

Falconers can't buy birds because they never truly own them. They are licensed from Fish and Game in the US. Often hawks are caught as young adults after they learn to hunt rather than being bred and trained. I've heard hawks usually can't be taught to hunt by people and become food obcessive. If this can't be corrected the bird is put down as it can't hunt and flies at humans for food. I work with one that does this and it's a little scary until you get used to it.

Falconer's do however have to go through a lot of training before they can have their own bird. It takes at the very least a year of training with an experienced falconer. It is also a huge responsibility when done right. 

That video to me was like looking at a lesson on everything to do wrong with a hawk.

Personally I'm not a fan of falconry but do work with unreleasable birds of prey. These birds are now used for education. They are beautiful and all so very different that I wish everyone had the chance to hold a bird of prey once. It really changed my perception of them.


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Jazi,
I think raptors and owls are among the most magnificent of God's creatures. They are absolutely gorgeous and just like cats, engineered perfectly for their role in nature. 
We've had the opportunity to see many of these birds up close as the local raptor foundations do a good job of trying to educate the public about the birds. They even have a booth at the regional Ren Faire along with the local greyhound rescue group.


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Geez I am glad I didn't see it. Thats terrible


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## theAussie (Jun 3, 2007)

Watched the first few seconds and pressed stop, sounds like I made a good decison or I would be madder than I am now - ABSOLUTELY APPALLING.


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Thats why I don't pay attention to things on youtube so much of it is just too upsetting to me.


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