North America

The story of North America

Falconry reached North America mainly through European and Middle Eastern traditions and developed as an organized field sport in the twentieth century.

The first American falconry club, the Peregrine Club of Philadelphia, formed in 1934, became inactive during the Second World War and was reconstituted in 2013. Colonel R. Luff Meredith is recognized as the father of North American falconry.

The North American Falconers Association (NAFA) followed in 1961. Peregrine falcons were listed as endangered in the United States in 1970, largely because of DDT, and captive breeding expanded after the 1970s.

The Peregrine Fund, founded in 1970, led much of that recovery work, and the peregrine was removed from the federal endangered species list on 25 August 1999. Wild peregrines were again taken for falconry in 2001.

Falconry in North America

NAFA is the main falconry association for the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was founded in 1961, has about 2,000 members, and is governed by a board of eight regional directors and two directors at large.

It works with falconry groups in Canada and Mexico, is a member of the International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey, and takes part in shaping federal and state rules. Its annual field meet is held each November or December in a different location.

In the United States, falconry is legal in every state except Hawaii and in the District of Columbia. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was amended in 1972 to cover birds of prey. A state permit is required, and the federal permit program was discontinued effective 1 January 2014.

Licensing involves a written test, an inspection of facilities and equipment, and at least two years as an apprentice, with apprentice, general and master classes. Canada and the United States are not among the countries listed on UNESCO's falconry inscription.

Institutions such as the Archives of Falconry in Boise keep the sport's documentary record on the continent.