Recently Raptor-link was informed by an anonymous source about the= capture of two Gyrfalcons and their subsequent removal from the wild. The= Gyrfalcons were captured on the Okhotsk Sea Coastal flyway near Magadan in= summer 1994 and were possibly individuals from Alaskan population. The= Gyrfalcons were captured under a legal permit issued by the Ministry of= Ecology of Russia and registered at the Magadan District Committee of the= Ministry of Ecology. The permission itself was signed by the Russian CITES= official at the Ministry of Ecology. The purpose was stated as "breeding in= captivity". The organisation to whom the permits were issued was the= Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. Has anyone ever= seen Gyrfalcons in the Kremlin or ever observed Mr. Yeltsin to breed= falcons? (Perhaps one day he might even subscribe to Raptor-link.) This small incident shows the level of corruption in Moscow. Private= breeders have to pay enormous bribes for permits to breed falcons or must= conceal their activities while some crooks in the Kremlin, in collaboration= with top officials from the Ministry of Ecology, cover up the unnecessary= removal of birds from the wild. We by no means believe that the permit was= issued for true captive breeding. Mr. Yeltsin can hardly spare time for= such activities as he is busy either in the hospital or preparing his= re-election campaign as a President. In any case, according to the= Constitution the duties of the Administration of the President do not= include falcon-breeding. Will the taxpayers approve of the President's (or= one of his aid's) joy of falcon-breeding? And where he breeds the birds? At= the mausoleum or in a shed at the Red Square? Raptor-link will appreciate any information on this matter. Raptor-link is a quarterly bilingual newsletter on Russian birds of Prey and= Owls. You can contact Raptor-link via e-mail: [log in to unmask]