Mongolia will export 20 Saker Falcons to Kuwait and Qatar in accordance with agreements signed between the countries’ governments based on an agreed quota this year.

The Mongolian trade in Saker Falcons has existed since the mid 1990″s, with the majority of wild-caught birds being exported to Arab states for falconry. Despite the population declines elsewhere in the breeding range, Mongolia remains one of the few countries still supporting a significant wild population of the falcon.

Kuwaiti falcon hunters have already started falcon hunting in Mongolia but Qatari  hunters have yet to be granted permissions to hunt falcons. Hunters from the Arab states will hunt for falcons in Mongolia  till October 25th.

The hunters will trap falcons in guided regions of Tuv and Khentii provinces under local administration control.

One of the contested practices used in the falcon hunting by Arabian hunters is the trapping of over 200 falcons to select only the 20 best falcons according to an old tradition for falcon hunting.

The Government of Mongolia identified the Saker Falcon as the national bird in November 2012.