Falconry is one of the oldest forms of human-animal partnership, but the welfare of birds used depends critically on keeper knowledge and housing standards.
Falconry welfare spans an enormous range. Expert falconers provide birds with daily free flight, careful conditioning, and skilled health monitoring in a practice that can offer genuine welfare advantages over other forms of captivity. Poor practice involves birds tethered on perches with minimal flight and inadequate enrichment. Welfare standards vary significantly between and within falconry organizations, and self-regulation has produced inconsistent outcomes.