Hospital Wings

Falconry has strong sporting and cultural significance in the United Arab Emirates, where medical care reflects the affection felt for these beloved birds

- Michael Wale

The waiting area in the hospital is, as usual, full. The patients already have hoods over their heads, so it is little wonder that there are none of the usual grumbles about the NHS. However, these patients are the day’s falcons waiting for a preliminary medical examination at the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, the largest of its kind in the world, treating 11,500 falcons a year.

In the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the falcon dominates. Falconry is the sport of the ruling sheikhs and also the local Emiratis, reflecting their cultural past, with the falcon featuring on the currency as well as being the emblem of the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital is run by Dr Margit Muller, who came here from Germany 16 years ago academically armed with a PhD in falcon medicine. Backed by the government’s Environment Department, the hospital had been founded a year earlier and in those days was just a small clinic; the appointment of a woman to run it in the male-dominated world of falconry caused some controversy but that soon disappeared when her expertise was recognised.

The falcon certainly seems to have an effect upon anyone who becomes involved with it and Dr Muller is no exception. “They are absolutely fascinating,” she says. Yet despite them being linked with the Bedouin past of the nation, as a bird of prey there is now a need for a dedicated hospital, as she explains. “It’s a real challenge for veterinarians. They need a very fast diagnosis. It’s a huge challenge. If their food is not completely fresh, or frozen quails aren’t totally thawed when they eat them, they can get very, very sick. It’s a challenge. Within five, six, seven hours they go down very quickly.”