About Us

There are no individual members of SAFA. Falconers belong to SAFA through their membership of a provincial club. SAFA is governed by an Executive Committee that is composed of two representatives of each of the provincial clubs. The ExCo meets annually but is in regular e-mail contact.

SAFA defines falconry as “The Art of hunting wild quarry with trained hawks”

The purposes of SAFA are:

1. To uphold and develop the standards of falconry practiced in South Africa.
2. To improve communication between falconers throughout South Africa
3. To represent South African falconers and their interests nationally, regionally and internationally
4. To encourage and facilitate the participation of falconers in conservation work and scientific research with respect to raptors and the environment
5. To represent South African Falconers in negotiation and collaboration with Conservation Authorities.

These functions are performed by SAFA through the means of:

1. An annual field meet held by SAFA and open to all provincial falconry club members.
2. An annual magazine “Mews Views”, which is circulated to all provincial falconry club members, as well as various interested parties including representatives of Provincial Conservation Authorities, The Endangered Wildlife Trust and its Bird of Prey Working Group, other interested parties within South Africa and to various falconry organizations world-wide, including the International Association for Falconry
3. Participation in the Bird of Prey Working Group of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, with whom we have signed a memorandum of understanding.
4. Participation in the International Association for Falconry and the Conservation of Birds of Prey, of which SAFA is a member.
5. Participation in the Union of African Falconry which looks to improving communication and co-operation between African Falconers and encouraging Raptor conservation on the continent
6. Active engagement with conservation authorities and other parties on falconry related issues.

The South African Falconry Association looks to furthering these aims and encouraging the conservation of raptors, quarry species and of the environment. SAFA wishes to form links with organizations that have similar aims and objectives and to engage positively with those who share our concerns for raptors and the environment

Intangable Heritage

This would be those aspects of a human activity that are passed from master to apprentice or father to son, that are difficult, if not impossible, to pass on by writing them in a book. These are aspects that cannot be preserved in an art gallery or a museum or a conserved area of land and that would be lost when, for example, the last falconer hangs up his glove.

So how would falconry fit this model? What special attributes or abilities are required to perform this activity.

1. Falconers become acute observers of nature. They learn to observe raptors and recognize their behaviour and, similarly, they learn to understand their quarry species.
2. They are adept at finding the nests and following the breeding patterns of raptors. Similarly they learn to trap raptors and many raptor researchers and ringers have learned these skills from falconers.
3. Falconers have pioneered and refined the breeding of raptors.
4. They learn to make and to use correctly the various items of falconry equipment, which may have broader implications in raptor husbandry. These would include items, which are commonly associated with falconry, such as jesses and hoods……….as well as items, such as imping equipment, that are less well recognized.
5. Throughout this process, there is the common tread of master and apprentice.
6. So the taming, training and husbanding of raptors is a process that we must learn and understand. However, there remains a quantum leap from this…
7. to this, which we perceive as the ultimate result of communication and mutually beneficial cooperation between man and bird.

The Southern African Intangable Heritage

1. GEOGRAPHY. We are a specific geographical region with unique and diverse habitats.
2. BIOLOGY. We have unique raptor species,(the Black Sparrowhawk, would be seen by many international falconers to be our flagship species.)
3. And we have unique quarry species.