Bali gets Papua's falconry center

BIAK, Papua: The Biak Falconry Center (BFC), which trains and breeds about 40 types of falcon, plans to move its operations to Bali, citing a lack of tourist arrivals to Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua.

BFC's present site at Yendidori village, Biak Numfor regency, suffered from a lack of tourists in the three years that it had been running, said BFC expert Philipe Hoyois on Monday.

"Moving BFC's location to Bali is the right choice, both for breeding falcons as well as attracting tourists to see them," he said.

Hoyois said the natural surroundings of Biak suited BFC's needs and the regency's administration had been very attentive, but ultimately the location was too remote.

Security concerns were another reason why few tourists had come, he said. Rebel groups have been fighting for independence in a low-level conflict for years now. -- Antara