Katara Int'l Hunting & Falcon Exhibition: An Exchange of Experience & Traditions
The Cultural Village Foundation Katara continued its festive activities of Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition (S’hail 2017) over the weekend.
A diverse array of participants from Qatar and abroad, from suppliers of hunting vehicles to tools, equipment and falcon care-related entities, came together for the unique exhibition which started last Wednesday. There were as many as 54 participants from Qatar; 15 from Kuwait; 5 from Spain; 4 from Pakistan; 3 from Germany; and one each from the US, England, France, South Africa, Azerbaijan and Lebanon.
The exhibition introduced more than 400 falcons from three local farms and nine other breeding farms from Spain, Germany, France and Russia.
The exhibition also welcomed many international hunting-related brands of camping gear, hunting arms and tools, and featured cultural stands from several countries including Morocco, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, introducing visitors to their cultural heritage in hunting and falconry through their exhibits.
To give a real hunting feel and marksmanship experience at S’hail 2017, the Qatar Shooting Federation brought a ‘shooting range’ along, with a representative from the Qatar Shooting Federation giving instructions to those who wanted to try their hand at the sport.
The first edition of S’hail 2017 exhibition attracted hundreds of people. But just as much as the falcons from various countries, the hunting equipment and camping gear enlightened the visitors, a traditional representative from Georgia also attracted the fancy and curious eyes of all. The only Georgian participating in the exhibition was a falcon trainer named Levani who came from Tbilisi to join the Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition S'hail with the aim of exchanging experience with other falcon trainers from around the world.
“The culture of falconry is very ancient in Georgia thanks to the large bird immigration coming from the Black Sea,” the Georgian falcon trainer said. At the exhibition, he presented Georgian falconry techniques and introduced a number of Georgian hunting traditions. In exchange, he was able to attend awareness-raising lectures and received training on how to deal with injured falcons and essential veterinary knowledge.
Commenting on falconry in Qatar, Alejandro from Spanish falcon breeding company Centro Deroleucus, said it is more popular in Qatar and is considered more of a tradition and part of culture than in Spain. “It is my heartfelt honour to be exposed to Qatari falconry as it has a very high status and pride,” he said.
Qatari falconers have developed new methods in training and caring for their falcons. Ian Garland from the UK, who runs a breeding farm, said he first visited Qatar ten years ago. "It was slightly different from now. The market is very specific and trainers are aware of the quality of the services and products," he said, adding that he sees the diversity the S’hail 2017 exhibition has brought to falconers and hunters as exceptional, something he has never witnessed at such an exhibition.
Katie Ruth Davies