On 3 December 2024, a man was arrested at Borg Al-Arab International Airport in Alexandria for being in possession of five falcons under anesthesia. The man, who was about to board a flight to the UAE, initially claimed the birds were poultry. However, upon closer inspection, airport security found that the birds were rare falcons, drugged for smuggling and intended to be sold to a foreign buyer at exorbitant prices in the UAE.
The incident sheds light on an illicit trade that generates billions in profit despite being criminalised.
Police investigations revealed that the falcons were bred in a farm in Kerdassa in Giza governorate. The farm belonged to Mahmoud Dorgham, a man specialising in breeding reptiles, animals, and wild birds for smuggling purposes.
He resorts to different smuggling techniques, using different airports to violate the law and escape security checks. The police arrested the farm owner and the smuggler, and both admitted their intentions to smuggle the five falcons in return for LE20,000 in cash, the trip tickets, and accommodation.
Not all wild birds are allowed to be exported outside Egypt, as some, such as falcons, are protected under the wildlife protection laws. Environmental Affairs Protection Law 4/1994 prohibits the hunting, killing, or capturing of birds useful for agriculture and wild animals in any way, as well as possessing, transporting, selling or offering them for sale alive or dead.
The law was designed to protect endangered species, such as falcons and rare birds, and preserve biodiversity. Egypt is signatory to several international conventions that prohibit the trade in endangered species. Falcon and wild bird traders thus resort to innovative smuggling methods to carry on their underground trade.
Some birds such as pet birds that include parrots and canaries are allowed to be transported under strict rules. These include providing a special container for the birds and informing the airline before the flight. A health certificate must be provided to the authorities before the birds are allowed to board a flight, to ensure that they are free of disease and are vaccinated.
Falconry is a realm of special allure to its fans, who are obsessed by the possession of such wild birds and are constantly seeking prestigious species such as Shahine falcons. Falcon collectors enjoy the difficult practice of hunting with and taming these wild birds and will pay almost any sum of money in return. The sport holds great appeal to wealthy Arabs in the Gulf countries, and Egypt remains one of the biggest markets in this respect since it has abundant habitats of the rarest species of wild birds.
Egypt’s falcons have been the target of business interests, which start by appointing hunters to go on hunting trips in Egypt’s deserts in return for an agreed sum of money. Falcon brokers then provide traders with foreign and wealthy Arab buyers. The brokers are sometimes also responsible for smuggling the rare wild birds outside of the country by injecting them with drugs and pretending they are poultry in attempts to go unchecked.
There are no official statistics for the volume of the falcon trade in Egypt, which remains a largely illicit business. Although smuggling wild birds is criminalised under environmental and agricultural laws, many of the arrested smugglers go largely unpunished. They are often set free after having to pay a fine that remains trivial when compared to the size of the damage incurred to the wild birds.
Falconry is a famous sport in some foreign countries like Britain, the United States, Japan, and Iran, where falcons may be allowed to hunt with an official permit. In the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, falconry also remains a traditional sport and a part of the area’s cultural heritage.
Rare bird traders talking to Al-Ahram Weekly argued that the falcon and rare-bird trade is an important business supporting the economies of such countries as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and others since it allows the influx of US dollars. This, they lamented, is not the case in Egypt, where the trade is prohibited and even criminalised.
A quick look at falcon prices explains why it is legalised in some countries. During an international auction of falcons that was held last August in Riyadh, one falcon was sold for 400,000 riyals. On the same day, the American Pacific Northwest Falcons farm sold another two falcons in return of 486,000 riyals each.
This annual auction provides a reliable platform for elite falcons from around the world to be bought and sold by organising direct and fast competitive sales that bring together falconers, producers, and falcon lovers from Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world.
Statistics show that the volume of investments in falcons in Saudi Arabia alone exceeds $1 billion. Statistics provided by the Saudi Wildlife Authority show that the number of falcons sold in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries amounts to about 1,114, yielding over 90 million riyals ($24 million) in revenue. The authority says that falconry investment generates job opportunities and boosts the country’s tourist revenues.
The trade and hobby of hunting with rare falcons are not unique to the Arab countries. Britain is also popular as a falconry centre, its habitats harbouring the Harris falcon, the most famous type used in falconry, according to the Britannica website.
Falconry is legal and even regulated in many countries around the world. In the United States, it is regulated by the state, while in Australia, it is illegal to keep any species of raptors in captivity without the necessary permits.
In New Zealand, falconry has been officially legalised for only one species, which is the swamp/Australasian falcon. Likewise, falconry is allowed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia, where the golden eagle soars in the sky and is used for hunting, while in Japan the Eurasian falcon has been used for centuries.
EGYPT IS DIFFERENT: Salem M, the owner of a farm breeding animals and birds, said that in Egypt “the rare falcon trade was a business that once appealed to wealthy aristocrats who sought rare Egyptian falcons that were difficult to find.”
“Hunting with falcons was a hobby practised by Egypt’s wealthy aristocrats, the pashas, in the past,” Salem added. “Now, however, falconry is unjustly curbed and criminalised despite the fact that it is officially regulated in the Arab countries where it is appreciated as a source of income.”
According to Salem, officials in Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, and even those in the United States, appreciate the trade as traditional heritage having economic value.
“Saudi Arabia, for instance, has assigned a full government sector to regulate the trade, which generates an annual income of more than $1 billion, according to the announced statistics,” Salem said.
“Unfortunately, we’re still extremely ignorant in this regard. We don’t understand its importance for tourism and entertainment and accuse its practitioners of causing disruption to ecosystems, which is not true.”
Salem added that there are already “falcon hunters numbering in the few dozens hunting in rugged places, such as the deserts of Salloum and Marsa Alam.”
“They know how to handle the birds without harming the environment as many claim,” Salem argued, stressing that “the state must legalise and regulate the hobby and trade of hunting.”
“The authorities must put caveats in place in practice, with an official permit to hunt under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment, to make sure all procedures are under state control,” Salem went on. “The authorities may impose fees and prices for hunting, organising safari trips for Arabs and foreigners, which would generate an income in hard currency, as is the case in other countries.”
According to Salem, the average price of a Shahine falcon, the most expensive of all, starts at LE300,000 and may cost millions. “An Egyptian Shahine falcon, for instance, was sold for LE8 million in Libya. It is a well-known breed, which is popular for its rapid swoop and is considered the most expensive and rarest type of falcon,” Salem said.
The free falcon comes next. Its price can exceed LE200,000, and it is known for its ability to hunt in wide open places. It is the second largest falcon known for its beauty and strength, followed by other types, the prices of which may exceed LE50,000, depending on the size and breed, according to Salem.
However, Sameh Samir, an environmental expert, insists that “poaching, especially for rare birds such as falcons and endangered eagles, should not be allowed as a legal trade.”
“Poaching threatens the ecological balance due to the brutal attacks of the hunters, who go hunting for the sake of money and under the name of entertainment,” Samir argued. He suggested that “penalties must be toughened against these hunters because they know very well that the penalty is a negligible fine, so they continue in their brutal trade once they are released.”
In 1998, ecologists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US classified poaching as an environmental crime because it contravenes renewable natural resource protection laws and regulations, as well as causing ecosystem disruption.
Egyptian Law 9/2009 stipulates in Article 28 that the illegal trade in wild animals is a crime punishable by law. It is prohibited to hunt or kill wild birds and wild animals, or to possess, transport, export, import or trade in them alive or dead, or to carry out any actions that may harm the natural environment. Anyone who violates the provisions of Article 28 of the law shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine of not less than LE5,000 and not more than LE50,000.
Article 84 of the same law in the section on penalties stipulates that violating the provisions of Article 28 shall be punished with a fine of no less than LE200,000 and not more than LE500,000, in addition to the confiscation of seized birds and animals, as well as the tools used in the violation.
But it is not just the ecosystem that is being harmed, according to environmentalists. Mai Hamada, head of the turtle and wildlife rescue team in Alexandria, told the Weekly that brutal methods are also used in hunting raptors.
One main violation is that the bird prey, usually a pigeon or a chick, used in hunting has no way to escape as happens in natural contexts. “The chick or pigeon is thus exposed to inhumane conditions, first suffering under the heat of the sun while in the net and then experiencing the fear of falling prey to the falcon,” Hamada said.
The falcon itself is also exposed to inhumane conditions. “After the bird falls into the net when it is caught, it tries to escape, but when it fails, it breaks its feathers, thus becoming unfit for sale,” Hamada said.
To avoid this, hunters attempt to stop the movement of the falcon in many inhumane ways, blindfolding it, burying its body in the sand, or stitching the eyelids of the bird together until the buyer removes the stitches, leaving the bird suffering from eye infections and ulcers.
“To sum it up, this hobby and trade is completely inhumane and cannot be justified as a traditional hobby of kings and so on,” Hamada insisted.
FANS SPEAK UP: Mohamed Taymour, a man in his 30s who loves hunting birds in the wild, has a different viewpoint.
Taymour told the Weekly that he had “inherited the love of bird hunting from my father and grandfather”. He grew up going out on hunting trips with friends who are also fans of hunting raptors in the deserts of south Matrouh and Alamein and sometimes also in Marsa Alam.
“For us, falconry is a hobby that runs in the family,” Taymour insisted. “We’re wrongly misconceived as overhunting and harming the environment, which is not true.”
According to Taymour, people should understand the difference between those who take up hunting as a hobby from ancient times and those doing it for trade. “The difference is crystal clear: those who practise falconry for profit do it secretly, targeting rare falcons and eagles which may endanger the ecosystem,” he explained. “Fans, by contrast, go for small falcons and traded species, which is not hazardous to the environment. The Arabs used to practise it in ancient times to obtain food.”
Taymour suggests legalising the hobby and regulating it under government supervision to boost tourism and generate income in hard currency, as is the case in many Arab countries.
For its part, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has settled the controversy over whether falconry is an art and a form of heritage or an attack on the environment.
The organisation inscribed falconry on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. This was later expanded in 2021 to include more countries.
“Falconry is recognised as ‘a living human heritage’ because it involves the practice of hunting with trained birds of prey and is deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of many communities worldwide,” UNESCO says.
The UNESCO inscription of this traditional sport has been cited in many countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which consider falconry an important historical tradition.
The Egyptian Ministry of Environment, under the leadership of Yasmine Fouad, has made it clear that the ministry’s efforts are directed toward protecting the environment and biodiversity.
It has set conditions to regulate the indiscriminate hunting of birds. Every year, the ministry issues a list of species that are allowed to be hunted and those that are not as they are endangered. The ministry allows the hunting of doves, quails, ducks, and pigeons. Falcons, eagles, and songbirds are not allowed to be hunted in Egypt as they are endangered and may become extinct.
Falcons aside, Egypt is located between Asia and Europe and thus its western coasts become the destination of five migratory types of birds during the months of August, September and October each year. Hunting trips are organised to herald their arrival, mostly aimed at the profitable bird-trading business.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 24 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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