Falconry may constitute a source of exotic species through the escape into the wild of individuals kept in captivity. The introduction of top predators can have important ecological consequences for the recipient community, including genetic pollution through reproduction between falconry hybrids and wild raptors. Here we assessed the introduction of falconry raptors (both native and exotic) into the wild between 2006 and 2018 through reports of lost, stolen and recaptured birds on a website widely used by the falconer community in Spain. Exotics were 60.9% of the 1995 raptors reported as escaped in the wild (mean rate: 76.7 individuals per year) belonging to 33 species (or subspecies not native to the study area) and 27 hybrid morphs. Escapes, which numbers show a quadratic trend along years with maximums between 2010 and 2012, were aggregated in the most populated areas. The main cause of these escapes was the use of defective materials by the falconers. Although people devote much effort to ensuring that their birds are not lost, 64.3% of escaped raptors were unrecovered, and recapture rates were lower for native raptors (29.9%) compared to exotics (39.4%). Harris’s hawk was the most frequently introduced species (i.e., unrecovered), followed by peregrine falcons and hybrids. This study quantifies for the first time the introduction rate of exotic raptors in the wild from falconry and proposes measures to regulate and improve this practice.

猎鹰可能通过被囚禁的人们逃到野外而构成外来物种的来源。引进顶级掠食者会对接收者社区产生重要的生态影响，包括猎鹰杂交种与野生猛禽之间繁殖所造成的基因污染。在这里，我们通过西班牙猎鹰社区广泛使用的网站上的失踪，被盗和被重新捕获的鸟类的报道，评估了2006年至2018年间将野鹰猛禽（本土和外来猛禽）引入野外的情况。异国情调占报道的1995年猛禽在野外逃逸的60.9％（平均比率：每年76.7个个体），属于33个物种（或非研究区域的亚种）和27个杂交体。越狱事件，这些数字显示出多年来呈二次趋势，2010年至2012年间达到最大值，聚集在人口最稠密的地区。这些逃跑的主要原因是鹰手使用有缺陷的材料。尽管人们付出了很大的努力来确保自己的家禽不会丢失，但仍有64.3％的猛禽没有被追回，而与猛禽相比，本地猛禽（29.9％）的捕获率要低得多（39.4％）。哈里斯鹰是引进最频繁的物种（即未发现），其次是游eg和杂种。这项研究首次量化了猎鹰在野外引入猛禽的比率，并提出了规范和改进这种做法的措施。相对于外来猛禽（39.4％），本地猛禽（29.9％）的捕获率更低。哈里斯鹰是引进最频繁的物种（即未发现），其次是游eg和杂种。这项研究首次量化了猎鹰在野外引入猛禽的比率，并提出了规范和改进这种做法的措施。相对于外来猛禽（39.4％），本地猛禽（29.9％）的捕获率更低。哈里斯鹰是引进最频繁的物种（即未发现），其次是游eg和杂种。这项研究首次量化了猎鹰在野外引入猛禽的比率，并提出了规范和改进这种做法的措施。