History of falconry

The German word for falconry (as well as hawking), “Beizjagd”, is derived from the German “beißen” (“to bite”), which alludes to the falcon’s bite into the neck of its prey. It also serves as a generic term for hunting with trained goshawks, sparrow hawks ans well as golden eagles and hawk eagles. Already practiced in China since the 7th century BC and particularly cultivated in Europe by the so-called “Falcon Emperor” Frederick II (1194-1250 AD), hunting with a bird of prey is a human cultural asset that is thousands of years old.
Hunting with special knowledge and high ability to empathise are called for with falconry. Hunting in a team comprised of falcon/hawk, hunting dog and hunter yields numerically less hunting success. On the contrary, the ideal experience is a central theme for the falconer, since he or she is a modest hunter.

Bird of prey knowledge

After the development of firearms, the bird of prey became uninteresting for prey hunting and was merely considered as a food competitor and chased. With the industrialisation of agriculture in the 20th century, natural areas were destroyed on a large scale, and as the last link in the food chain, birds of prey fell victim to the pesticides utilised (e.g. DDT) through poisoning and softening of eggshells. This made an intensive notification of the general public necessary in order to prevent further extinction of species. Thanks to renaturation measures, intensive support work through the various bird conservation organisations and successes with offspring by falconers, stable populations have been established with some species (peregrine falcon, sea eagle, barn owl) today.