1st May 2020 

A Scottish company claiming to be the ‘largest travelling display of birds of prey in the UK’ has been exposed by Freedom for Animals for operating without the required registration.

Following information provided by Dumfries and Galloway Council, it was revealed that Skyhigh Falconry, based in Moffat, Dumfriesshire, has neither a Zoo Licence nor is registered under the Performing Animals (Regulations) Act.

Despite this, the company has continued to keep and exhibit their captive birds, meaning that it is believed to have been illegally operating for a considerable period of time.

Among the list of clients that Skyhigh boasts of are Vodafone, Barclays Bank and Scottish Natural Heritage. The company also advertises that they travel to anywhere in UK, raising huge concerns for the wild animals confined to a trailer for hours on end.

This shocking discovery comes just weeks after it was found that Sky Birds of Prey, located in Kent, had been exhibiting their captive birds without any required licence for almost a year.

Freedom for Animals' Director, Sam Threadgill, said;

The extent to which the cruel falconry industry has escaped scrutiny is now becoming clear. It is these wild birds, living captive in small enclosures and tied down for hours on end, who are suffering as a result.

Despite granting the minimum of protection, registration and licensing can never ever truly protect those birds currently suffering within captivity. Therefore, Freedom for Animals works towards an end of cruel bird of prey zoos and displays.

Thousands of birds of prey are suffering in zoos throughout the UK. During Freedom for Animals' recent investigation, 74% of birds were found to be permanently tied down except when flown for very short periods of time or moved for husbandry. Freedom for Animals is currently calling on DEFRA to ban tethering, a cruel practice in which birds are tied down for hours on end and unable to display their most fundamental behaviour: flight.

Contact DEFRA and demand they ban tethering!