Qatar falconry party: when the hunters became the hunted in Iraq
In the complicated landscape of the modern Middle East, the centuries-old tradition of Arab falconry is a high-stakes sport. Wealthy sheikhs have been willing to risk ambush, kidnapping and even missile strikes to pursue their passion.
Despite such risks, they have landed private jets and set elaborate camps in war-torn corners of the region and beyond. Using falcons worth as much as $100,000, they hunt down their most desired prey: the houbara bustard.
The bird, whose meat is seen by some as an aphrodisiac, was hunted to near extinction in its own Arabian peninsula. So the hunters seek it out in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In December 2015, Qatari falconry enthusiasts ended up on the wrong end of the hunt. The ill-fated Qatari hunting party of 26 was captured in southern Iraq and held hostage by an Iranian-backed Shia militia for 16 months. A deal to release them this year became one of the triggers that led to this week’s stand-off between Doha and its Arab neighbours.
Regional officials familiar with the deal say the ransom, which cost Doha up to $1bn, stirred suspicions among Saudi Arabia and the UAE that Qatar was funding radical Islamist groups and their arch-rival, Iran. In one fell swoop, they say, Doha paid off blacklisted Iranian security officials, the regional Shia militias they support and a jihadi group in Syria accused by the west of being an al-Qaeda affiliate. The Qatari government said in a statement to the Financial Times that the ransom was much less, and was paid only to Baghdad to help secure the hostages’ release.
According to a person familiar with the group, the hunting party — nine of whom were from the al-Thani ruling family — knew they were taking a gamble. The trip was carefully co-ordinated with Iraq’s interior ministry, which is widely believed to be infiltrated by pro-Iran operatives.
As the kidnapping began, their Iraqi guards slipped away, according to one person in contact with the former hostages. Helicopters landed nearby, suggesting some Iranian or Iraqi complicity in the operation. According to this account, the hostages were held underground in Baghdad’s green zone, home to most foreign diplomatic missions (Iraqi militia leaders said the prisoners were held in Iran). The hostages received poor food and little medication, leaving them physically and mentally scarred, their teeth rotting on their return. “They don’t say much,” the person said. “They need psychological support.”
Qatari men pose with houbara bustards caught in a reserve in Abu Dhabi emirate © AFP This is not the first time Gulf hunters have been embroiled in regional conflict.
In the book Ghost Wars, journalist Steve Coll wrote that in February 1999, the CIA tracked Osama bin Laden down to a UAE royal’s hunting camp. They considered launching cruise missiles, but feared a diplomatic dispute should the Emirati end up dead too.
Gulf hunters are sometimes despised by locals, who see them as intruders allowed to take wildlife that is off-limits for them. Some Saudi hunting parties have come under fire from Baloch rebels in Pakistan. And in the Syrian desert, tribal sheikh Ayed al-Utayfi recalled an attack on Kuwaitis in 2007, when robbers took the hunters’ weapons, cars and money, tied them up and dumped them in the desert. The hunting is not only dangerous, but incredibly expensive. A party will send sport utility vehicles and camping gear ahead, while its falcons take private planes. The hunters sometimes use armoured vehicles in case of attacks and landmines.
If they fail to find the houbara, they can still hunt wild pigeons. “But the houbara is the biggest trophy, that is the biggest dream,” said one German falconer, who hunts with the Qatari falconry community, and asked not to be identified.
The experience allows a sheikh’s entourage to hark back to the days of their forefathers. They rise at dawn, tracking and hunting until sunset. Spotting the houbara in the desert scrub can take years of practice.
If the hunters are lucky, and houbara is on the menu, they boil it before grilling, to reduce its toughness. The broth is then served as a starter, and the spiced gamey meat is served with rice, and eaten around a campfire.
The German falconer said she had tried to secure a place in the doomed Iraqi trip, but was rejected.
With so much at stake, why do falconers keep at it?
“Falconry is the passion to train a wild bird to hunt prey in a team with you,” she said. “Hunting is not a sport. It is a passion.”
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