New commercial breeding center
of Birds of Prey in Brazil - CEPAR
Interview with the owner Junior Cepar
Contact: cepar@ceparambiental.com.br
Instagram: @jrabreum
How did you come up with the idea of opening a breeding center of Birds of prey?
Since I was a child I´ve always liked breeding animals, could be parakeets, fish, hamsters etc. When Falconry appeared in my life I have already thought about breeding, with that I started to build recints in a country house that I had in Salvador / BA / Brazil, so that when Ibama would re-authorize the opening of new breeding centers, I would have everything ready and it would be just start the process for getting the authorization. This dream was then delayed both by the delay, the delay that I have been waiting since 2010, and because I moved to Rio de Janeiro and have to dedicate myself more intensely to the work of Falconry both at the Galeão airport and in the fauna controls of pigeon that my company called CEPAR performs in several states. Parallel to this I managed to organize things and return with that dream that was paused, I acquired a country house and began to build the enclosures, but before that I traveled abroad, visited many breeding places in several countries, I studied a lot, I exchanged a lot of information for building the mews that fit our reality better. And today it is a dream that I´ve finally managed to achieve, with the support of many who are around me, living this dream that is now a reality and they will certainly enjoy it.
What are your criteria for choosing the species to be made available?
The criteria I divide according to genus. Owls, as they are normally used as pets, I have used the criterion of trying to encompass all sizes to try to reach both those people who do not have much space for a large owl, as much as the people that have it, and also the question of beauty and manning in captivity . As for the hawks and falcons, I used the simple criterion of birds that I think have the potential for Falconry, trying to encompass both those who enjoy high flying, and those who prefer low flying.
Some of the species that will be available soon are:
Falco femoralis, Falco peregrinus, Falco deiroleicus,Falco rufigularis, Accipters, Tyto furcata, Strix hulula, Asio clamator. among others.
How is the process for the acquisition of the breeding pairs?
As I am very concerned with the genotype and the phenotype, I have tried to introduce into the breeding stock birds that we have already used in the works, which have already proven the efficiency we seek and the behavioral and anatomical characteristics, which I, Junior Abreu, observed and seek as quality for the activities we carry out.
As many of the species that we want to reproduce have not yet been commercialized in Brazil, some of them have been imported from both Germany and Spain, and others are being received from the Union (cetas, ibama, crás). Some of our birds that were already born in the center we had the concern of testing, before even commercializing them, and we are quite satisfied with them.
What species are already available for sale and how to buy?
Today we have couples of several species, and a few more to arrive, but as the Harris´s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) does not have an specific reproductive period, reproducing practically all over the year, today 03/08/2018 we have only chicks of them, but we are already starting the breeding season and we've already have couples of hawks, falcons and owls together for some time, we hope this 2018 breeding season will be good.
What are the biggest challenges of running a breeding center?
The biggest challenge is knowing how to manage without counting your hawks before they´re hatched (or falcons, owls…) they are animals and not machines, our part we must do, which is to provide favorable enclosures to make them feel well to reproduce, a good supplemented food, correct hygiene and hope that everything goes well and when nature decides it will come. I do not usually raise expectations, as this is very bad for me, I'm very anxious, and a disappointment is very frustrating and it does not do well for breeding as it is a business. Therefore values and bookings are only done after a few days of birth, in this way the chances are minimal of the client getting frustrated and end up denigrating your name, which took so much time to build, and a dream that came true and something pleasant turns out to a nightmare and generates constant problems.
What is the differential of your breeding center?
It´s difficult to talk about a differential, I know all the breeding centers today in Brazil and all have many qualities and defects as everyone in the world has. I believe that those who kept mistakes soon will end, because they have only been held so far for lack of competition. With the opening of new breeding centers, or you serve your customers better or you fall behind, it's the old law of supply and demand. But my differential I prefer that the falconers who will buy my birds mine compare and say, but beforehand honesty and clarity is something that we cherish.
How do you evaluate the impact of your breeding center in Brazilian falconry?
I believe it will impact more on the way breeders treat their customers, also falconers and owls´ trainers will have a greater range of birds to fly and evolve in Falconry. As we have tested some species before (at least their parents and siblings were tested), this concern of genetic selection with the characteristics I mentioned above, will increase the chances of good results in Falconry, using our commercialized birds. As there will be more birds being marketed, this will increase the popularity of Falconry, making it stronger in Brazil.
How will your breeding center facilitate your work in fauna control in Galeão airport?
It is already making it easier for us (lol), we have a great difficulty in acquiring birds as well as everyone, with the breeding center we have reduced a little this dependence, so that we improved the results by increasing the number of birds and especially by risking more because of the greater availability we have now. With this our Falconry grows and the results at work only tend to improve. In other countries, where you have great falconers, they evolve more easily mainly because they have a large supply of birds to buy whenever they want, with this they risk more and it is risking that you stop limiting the bird and achieve great results.
Thank you once again for the invitation and congratulations for the project you have been carrying out with such care and dedication. You can always count on us.
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