TRAINED birds of prey could be locked up as a consequence of the Scottish Government’s hare cull ban, a falconer has warned.
New protections for mountain hares came into force last year making it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take mountain hares without a licence.
However, professional falconer Barry Blyther has long campaigned against the legislation saying that the people who care for captive birds of prey could be prosecuted if their raptor gives in to instinct.
Mr Blyther, who runs the 'Elite Falconry' centre in Fife, told MSPs on Holyrood’s Petitions Committee that there was no way for upland falconers like him to fly his bird without the risk of prosecution.
Asked by the SNP’s Fergus Ewing if there was any way falconers could maintain their work without impacting hare species, he replied: “Well, I could potentially fly my eagle in the car park at Harthill services.
“I could potentially fly around the docks in Aberdeen Harbour, perhaps on some of the rigs that have been repaired just off the coast there in Aberdeen.
“The reality of it is now, if we want to absolutely eliminate the chances of specifically upland falconers being prosecuted, there isn't a current way to do it.”
READ MORE: Over 11,000 Scots back making mountain hares a legally protected species to stop mass culls
He told the committee that even at a school talk, there was always a danger of a hawk flying over the fence and catching a hare.
“I've been in a situation where I've been providing a flying demonstration at a venue and the hawk has left the arena and caught a hare nearby.
“Now remember that birds of prey are naturally wide-ranging and free-flying.”
Mr Blyther said at a flying demonstration in the Highland Games field at Braemar, a bird was distracted by fire engine and drfited off three miles out to the hill.
“I'm not there to catch a hair, but the risk of it doing so are very real and they do exist.”
Mr Blyther told the MSPs about his two eagles, an unnamed female, and a male called Stanley, who have been sitting in an aviary and had not flown more than 20 feet since the legislation was brought in.
He said the raptors had spent their whole lives being trained and would be taken out onto the hills, where they would spend days flying. This, he added, was no longer possible.
“It's all they know how to do and quite simply they do not understand how to do anything else," he said.
“The 15-year-old male eagle will probably live to be about 40 and under the current legislation, it will not fly again.
“The 23-year-old female eagle will probably live to be closer to 50 and under the current legislation, she will probably never fly again.”
Committee convenor, Jackson Carlaw described the situation as “absurd.”
“We're almost at the situation where the legislation requires us to ask Stanley if he understands the perimeters within which he's entitled to hunt, which I think illustrates the nonsensical nature of it all.
He said Mr Blyther’s petition had “a real issue that we will want to find a way to pursue.”
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