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Khalifa donates 100 falcons for auction

ABU DHABI — The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has donated 100 falcons for the Falcon Auction, which will be held on the last day of the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) 2007 on October 27.

He has directed to donate the proceeds from the auction to children with special needs.

Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Emirates Falconers’ Club, praised the noble gesture, saying it was in line with Shaikh Khalifa’s support for conservation of falconry as a world cultural heritage.

He said this gesture also reflected Shaikh Khalifa’s constant support to cultural, heritage and environmental projects as well as his interest in encouraging sustainable hunting.

The aim was also to encourage UAE falconers to use captive-bred falcons instead of endangered wild falcons, specially since captive-bred falcons had proved to be as good at hunting as wild falcons, he said.

The Falcon Conservation Project — ‘Pro-Falcon’ — was launched in Al Ain in 1996. It is the first and biggest project of its kind in the Middle East and one of the biggest in the world. Every year, ‘Pro-Falcon’ breeds, in captivity, hundreds of falcons that deliver stunning hunting performances.

‘Pro-Falcon’ aims to improve the breeds of captive-bred falcons, and to reduce the threat of extinction of wild falcons.