KEEPING OWLS AS PETS
Despite their decline in the wild, Barn Owls breed very
easily in captivity and there is a large population of
legitimate captive birds in the UK. This has led to a
propensity of owls being offered for sale through the likes
of local papers, car boot sales, etc.
However, our basic advice to those who may be considering
keeping an owl as a pet is -
DON’T.
To begin with, owls do not make very good pets. Beautiful,
majestic and as awe-inspiring as they may be, in captivity
they can be noisy, smelly and dirty and will need a lot of
your time, care & attention. They require a regular,
specialist diet, and in our opinion to be kept properly
they need a large, purpose-built aviary which can be
expensive to build and maintain.
Also, it should be considered that owls are predators. They
can be quick, powerful and with the sharp talons they use
to kill prey, extremely dangerous - especially for
children. Even falconers with many years experience of bird
handling have lost eyes or been severely scarred by wayward
captive raptors.
With the heightened awareness of owls amongst youngsters
due to the success of the
“Harry Potter”
books and films, author J.K. Rowling has made a strong plea
to fans not to copy their hero by keeping owls as pets.
She says, “If anybody has been influenced by my books to
think an owl would be happiest shut in a small cage and
kept in a house, I would like to take this opportunity to
say as forcefully as I can: You are wrong.
“The owls in Harry Potter books were never intended to
portray the true behavior or preference of real owls. If
your owl-mania seeks concrete expression, why not sponsor
an owl at a bird sanctuary where you can visit and know
that you have secured him or her a happy, healthy life.”
Keeping Owls is really the province of the experts, and you
will find that there is plenty of advice and information
available about the proper environment and conditions in
which owls can be kept available from organisations like
the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, who have experienced falconers
on hand; have specialised information available on the care
& conservation of owls and run courses on the subject.
For further reading, we recommend the book “Understanding
Owls” by Jemima Parry Jones - an informative and rewarding
publication which delves further into the biology,
management, breeding & training of owls and should be
an absolute must for those contemplating keeping these
fascinating birds in the correct way. Priced £12.99 +
P&P it is available from The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary on
01449 711425 or via
www.the-owl-barn.com