Two American falcons 'expelled' from the province of Trento will be given sanctuary in the neighboring region of Veneto, their owner said on Tuesday.
Falconry enthusiast Dino Dossi had been ordered by provincial authorities to turn his birds in to a specialised center because of a recent law banning 'foreign' falcons in order to promote and protect local hawks.
However, because there is no such center in Trentino, he was told to take his birds to one in Castel Tirolo, in the neighboring province of Alto Adige, which together with Trento form the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige.
''I could never do that! I once left an eagle in their care and it almost died,'' Dossi said.
''I'm too attached to my falcons and I won't give them to anyone, no matter what they do to me. I'd rather set them free even if they arrest me for it,'' he added.
Dossi finally opted for bringing his two American Harris falcons, a male and a female which he bought in Germany, to a relative who lives outside Verona and will move there himself to take care of them.
''Feeding them is not enough. They need to be looked after and kept in constant training. And I don't want the move to upset them from a psychological point of view,'' Dossi explained.
Dossi, who has been using his hawks over the past eight years to illustrate the art of falconry, added that he hoped the 'exile' in Veneto would be temporary and that the Trentino province would reconsider and repeal its ban.
Forestry officials in Trentino, however, maintain that Dossi could have filed for an exemption in 2006, long before the law banning foreign falcons went into effect.