Many of the eagle hunters are not skilled breeders, just owners. In the local Kazakh’s philosophy this destroys the traditional ideas about preserving the natural balance. One reason there are so many transactions is because the traditional, sustainable art of taming birds has been lost. This often results in the sickness or death of birds. In previous eras, the death of a captured eagle was regarded as an abomination.
Despite recognition from UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the truth is that the traditional methods of Golden Eagle falconry are endangered by an aging population of hunters. In Altai soum, the most revered and respected practitioner of falconry passed away, leaving an unclear future for the soum (Soma and Battulgee 2014). Humans have a direct impact on the environment as well. Concerns that stem from tourism are related to waste management, the development of more roads, and off-road driving (AMBCS 2009). The AMBCS also lists mining as a “severe and growing” threat to ecosystem stability, citing pollution and land degradation, potential conflicts with protected areas, current overlaps with important bird areas, and total lack of regulation of artisanal mining. There are two mines, both for tungsten, that are or have been operating in the Altai Tavan Bogd protected area. In the Munkh Kharikhan protected area there is at least one gold mine operating. Deforestation is also considered to be a severe threat to habitat, and has been proven to be impactful on stable Golden Eagle populations (Watson 2010). As a catalyst for land degradation the threat of mining becomes a major concern. Hunting, which is illegal without a permit in Mongolia, is also a significant problem that challenges the Altai Mountain region. Both sport hunting and hunting by local people are considered severe threats by the AMBCS. To add to that, in Tolbo soum in Bayan Olgii hunting practices have changed to favor guns. Eagles have become supplementary to the Russian hunting rifles. Many hunters in this soum only employ the eagle if they have first missed with their rifle (Soma and Sukhee 2014). This is not a common practice, but perhaps an insight into how hunting practices continue to vary and evolve from traditional methods.
1.5 Existing Policy
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