Goshawk can’t be awarded danish residence

Sourse: Michael Sand / Netnatur.dk by 22. november 2016..

Goshawks are particularly effective when falconers need to scare rooks out of cities. Even so, Lehmann Falconry cannot get permission to use a legally purchased Goshawk, and this may be in violation of the EU, the owner believes..

Preben Schøpzinsky is the owner of Lehmann Falconry, which is a sole proprietorship that offers to chase birds away from unwanted areas.

Typically, this concerns noisy rooks in urban areas, where they are unwanted, as well as birds from stables and storage buildings, where they pose a risk of infection, etc.

Lehmann Falconry mainly uses hawks of the Harris Hawk type, as it is illegal in Denmark to keep birds of prey that belong to the country’s native fauna. Only species that do not occur in Danish nature can be used.

Unfortunately, the American hawks are not very effective when rooks have to be chased out of e.g. park areas where they are unwanted or where the population has become too large.

They resemble buzzards, and therefore Danish birds of prey, which already have the black birds on the menu, are far preferable.

– Goshawks and great horned owls (Bubo Bubo), for example, know the rooks only too well, and therefore they are more effective as scarecrows, Preben Schøpzinsky tells Netnatur.dk

Preben Schøpzinsky, owner of Lehmann Falconry, has been refused permission to use native raptor species such as Goshawks when he hunts rooks out of urban areas. The Nature Agency’s decision cannot be appealed – Therefore, in the spring of 2016, he chose to challenge the Danish regulations when he bought a Goshawk abroad

– Of course I knew very well that it was illegal to keep native raptor species in Denmark, but I still bought a young pigeon hawk in Italy, says the owner of Lehmann Falconry, who states that the hawk was hatched in captivity and provided with CITES and all the necessary documents.

– When I chose to acquire a Goshawk, it is because I am quite sure that it is against EU legislation to prohibit me from using Goshawks in my work.

– The fact is that foreign companies that offer the same as I do must use native species when they have to hunt rooks or seagulls out of urban areas.

– I therefore do not believe that the Danish authorities can prevent a legal EU company from carrying out this kind of work in Denmark, says Preben Schøpzinsky. And why should I be treated worse than other EU companies, he asks and continues:

– If the foreign providers are more efficient because they can legally use species that I cannot, this means that I am disadvantaged when I have to offer my service. That goes without saying, he emphasizes.

– The country’s municipalities must of course be offered the most effective method, says Preben Schøpzinsky, who has successfully relocated entire rook’s colonies and reduced others to a tolerable level.

– But it can be quite time-consuming to scare hundreds of rooks out of an area when you are not allowed to use species such as Goshawks and Great Horned Owls, which in this country are the rook’s natural enemies, says Preben Schøpzinsky.

That is why he chose to apply to the Danish Nature Agency for permission to keep and use a Goshawk, as the species has a reputation for being tireless as long as there is something to fly at.

The Danish falconer expects that the mere sight of a Goshawk much faster than the American hawks can frighten the rook colonies and make them look for new nesting trees.

The birds of prey that he currently uses in his scare campaigns mean that he often has to fly up to three times a day in a colony to move the birds out of the area. As a rule of thumb, around 70 flights per day are used. colony.

– I have chosen to be completely open with what we do, and this is probably the explanation why I have not yet had a single negative reaction from bird watchers, even though the hawks rarely catch a bird.

CANNOT BE APPEALED

– But when Goshawks are used, it cannot be ruled out that there will be negative reactions. A Goshawk is built to take birds in flight, and this will naturally mean that a rook can more often end up in the clutches of a bird of prey. Even if the purpose of the mission is solely to relocate the unwanted birds.

– And since storks are protected birds – we have to acknowledge that – it cannot be ruled out that our work will be looked at askance. But as mentioned, I have currently only experienced positive reactions, says Preben Schøpzinsky, who in the 2016 season reduced a rook colony from 260 pairs to 0 pairs.

– I am of course disappointed that I was not given permission to keep my Goshawk, but I am surprised that it is not stated in the refusal that I must get rid of the bird. It is only stated that I must not store it.

– On the other hand, it is emphasized that I cannot appeal the case to another administrative authority, and I feel bad about that: I also feel bad that I am now the owner of a bird for which, according to Danish law, I do not have permission , concludes Preben Schøpzinsky from Lehmann Falconry