Arabian falcons treated

Press, 28 December 1985, Page 22

Arabian falcons treated

By PHILIP SHEHADI of Reuter Dubai The patient inhales anaesthetic. Wires are fixed on his chest to monitor his heartbeat. The surgeon calls for scalpel and forceps. The surgery begins. . On the table is a young peregrine falcon suffering from bumblefoot, an infection that could paralyse his claws if left untreated. His owner, a sheikh of Dubai’s ruling al-Maktoum family, hopes surgery will cure the bird in time for one more hunt this season. The Dubai falcon hospital, said to be the only one in the world, expects to treat more than 500 falcons this year with ailments ranging from lead poisoning to tapeworm and herpes. Falconry is a traditional passion of the Bedouin Arab and the lure of the hunt does not appear to have faded with the rapid modernisation of the United Arab Emirates and other oil-rich Arabian Peninsula States. Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid al-Maktoum, the Emirates’ Defence Minister, owns about 100 birds, and

his brother, Sheikh Hamdan, the Finance Minister, has at least 30.

Three years ago, Sheikh Hamdan set up a private clinic for the al-Maktoum birds during the winter hunting season. The hospital is now staffed full-time and open to all, with falcons checking in from the neighbouring Emirate of Abu Dhabi and from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.

“This little hospital tends to fill up pretty fast,” said David Remple, the Colo-rado-born veterinary surgeon who runs it with his wife, Cheryl. On a busy day, the waiting room is lined with sick birds, hooded and silent on their cloth perches. One may have symptoms of lead poisoning — convulsions, anaemia, loss of appetite and voice. He will need blood treatment and surgery.

Another may have a parasite, needing antibiotics, or a more cosmetic complaint such as a broken feather. Among the worst diseases is aspergillosis, a fungus that eats away lungs and air sacs and requires frequent medication, inhala-

tion therapy and delicate surgery. The survival rate is only 5 per cent. Mr Remple said that the clinic initially met scepticism from falconers used to traditional Bedouin healing. “It’s amazing how well it has caught oh. The Bedouin were very stand-offish at first about any Western medicine, but word has got around and they are very co-operative now — they come in regularly.” In the desert, Bedouin used to brand their sick birds with red-hot irons to stamp out infections. For eye ulcers, they administered a mixture of saliva and sugar. Now, Mr Remple said, falconers bring in stool samples of their favourite birds even when they appear perfectly healthy, just for a check.

Mr Remple said that the hospital made good economic sense. “With the prices paid for these falcons, if you can save even one fourth of them, you can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the course of a season. The hospital more than pays for itself.” Falcons are selling this year for an average

SUSSOOO ($9900) each. But tight supply in the main countries of origin — Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria — can boost the cost of a prized female saker to more than $19,800. Up to $495,000 is not unheard of for particularly rare birds. The al-Maktoums’ birds account for about 80 per cent of hospital business. Others pay 30 dirhams (nearly $l6) a day for care, in addition to medical charges. The falcons stay, in small rooms, at most two to a room, and eat only fresh quail. A hunting trip in Pakistan or Iran (there is little game left in the U.A.E.) is a highpoint in the recreational life of many of the Emirate’s citizens.

Birds are usually bought in autumn and many owners release them in the spring when hunting is over, a carry-over from days when lack of air conditioning and proper food in the summer made it hard to keep them. Training takes about two weeks.

An active falconer may take two or three hunting trips a year, each for a few weeks, Mr Remple said.