But wait, there's more

[wyodjm]

NO that was not in the brief. It was quoted from an exhibit that is a supporting reference and was misquoted by your attorney as a NAFA statement or position. IT was from A 1996 paper by Carnie and Rogers presented at a wildlife conference that articulated an "order of priorities". Birds, falconry and falconers in that order. I would encourage readers of this and related threads to read all the legal documents carefully and thoughtfully. Most of these issues revolve around conversations, social media posts, and marketing materials that are divorced from factual arguments. It concerns me that political beliefs of the petitioners are driving this more than a genuine concern for falconry, and in doing so, they are aligning with the devil. In a recent post by PLF, the lead attorney calls NAFA "a special interest group purporting to speak on behalf on falconers". Well NAFA has the largest membership rolls of any falconry member organization and AFC has what a hundred? THe fact remains that NAFA was a co-author of the falconry regs and the stipulations those authors developed had a lot of context and historical significance that folks need to appreciate. Much of this context is in the Carnie and Rogers paper posted as an exhibit in this case. Furthermore this effort to develop acceptable falconry regs in collaboration with the USFWS was the catalyst behind legalized falconry in the US. THese are straight up facts. Read the materials then decide.

Thank you for bringing this up John! Something to the effect of standing on the shoulders of giants comes to mind. Kind of unreal to watch all these discussions unfold the way they do. Willful ignorance is real.

Giving credit where credit is due, Yes, Nafa was there when the original falconry regs were being drawn up in the 1970's. But that's like saying the Miami Dolphins won the Superbowl in 1973! Our social, economic and political landscape is totally different today! And yes, Nafa is the largest falconry organization. But how many of the U.S. licensed falconers actually belong to Nafa? Perhaps 1/3, if that! So, in essence, Nafa doesn’t represent the majority of U.S. falconers either! So please stop implying that they do!

Look, I wish falconers were more united. I think all of us do. But the fact is, Nafa is a special interest group! So is the AFC. But I’ve had the feeling for several years now that many Nafa members act like it was some sort of religious cult! It’s just a club that is supposed to represent falconers and the interest of falconers.

I first joined Nafa in 1975! I’ve made an observation over the years. There has always been the overlying shadow of a modern day caste system existing within Nafa and it seems it has been very heavily guarded at times! That was one of the main reasons the original WRTC (now AFC) was started and by one of Nafa’s original founding fathers! How paradoxical is that? People should quit acting as if Nafa is a cult and that anyone who disagrees or publicly criticizes Nafa is committing falconry sacrilege! And please quit trying to discredit, demonize and marginalize the AFC for attempting to improve falconry in the U.S.