Wingspan flies to UAE for falcon fest

Debbie Stewart will be travelling to Abu Dhabi with four colleagues from Wingspan for the International Falconry Festival this December. Photo / File

Rotorua's Wingspan has been invited to join the world's top bird of prey conservationists in Abu Dhabi as part of the International Falconry Festival.

Wingspan founder and director Debbie Stewart said thousands of people from around 80 countries would attend the event in December, which had a packed programme. The five Wingspan members will be the only group from New Zealand.

"We will be joining people with long histories of conservation and international reputations," she said.

There would be a New Zealand stand at the three-day festival, which would promote Rotorua tourism, trade and conservation efforts.

"It's a different market for New Zealand but still important for our tourism, trade and exchange.

"It's important for conservation in general, and uses all the 'k's really - karearea, kokako, kiwi and kaitiaki."

The Wingspan group's trip has been sponsored entirely by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nayan, the president and ruler of the UAE.

Ms Stewart said the festival would celebrate the history of falconry.

"Falconry goes back 4000 years; it's the longest form of hunting."

Her group would also attend a falcon-specific desert camp, which will have workshops, camels, hawking, horsing and a number of traditional events, she said.

Wingspan, a charitable trust, has a history of supporting research projects, and contributed to the successful submission to UNESCO for falconry to be inscribed as "an intangible cultural heritage of humanity".