> In that message, he stated, in reference to peregrine
>falcons, "They face a lot of risks beyond exposure to DDT:
> shooting and unregulated (in practice, though not by law)
>falconry."

>Tom Juelson Office telephone # (360) 902-2510


Sorry for the confusion, I'd thought it was clear from the
context of my post that I was speaking of dangers south
of the border. I.E. exposure to DDT is not a problem in
the US, nor is unregulated falconry nor for the most part
shooting. There are cases of rogue pesticide use, rogue
falconers, and plunkers and eagle whackers, but the number
of raptors harmed by these practices is very low compared to
the past. And people get busted and fined for violations
of falconry, shooting, and pesticide use law these days,
though not often enough.

But, once you leave the US all three of these risks increase.
For instance, most of the band returns we get from
Sinaloa (Coops, in particular) have been shot - mostly by
poor farmers who can't afford elaborate, modern chicken coops
etc. We don't hold it against them, particularly, and they
tend to be very honest about it - "shot the hawk, it was chasing
my chickens". I don't hold third-world farmers to first-world
standards, but it is a fact that they shoot a lot raptors.

And outside Veracruz, there are apparently a bunch of folks
who trap peregrines for sale. The Mexican biologists who
run the (2 million bird!) migration count down there tried
to do some banding of peregrines but all of the good spots
along the beach were taken by falconers.

Also, I most certainly don't pretend that the three examples
of risk I presented are inclusive.

-Don Baccus-