Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Abandoned Owl Problem

According to Yahoo, Harry Potter fans have been trying to make pets of owls. And now that the series has ended, disappointed owl owners have been banishing the birds into the wild--in such numbers that, in parts of England, they're apparently upsetting the local ecology.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/hundreds-harry-potter-fans-abandon-pet-owls-series-054059989.html

Reportedly owls can make rewarding pets--for the right person. They can live up to thirty years. They bond intensely with their families, accepting human owners as family. Like crows, they're not born speaking a language, but learn "words" from those with whom they're intimate, and can learn to understand many words in human languages. However, bonding with an owl takes lots of quality time, and since the birds become dangerous under stress, bonding with an owl is not recommended for humans who want to live with children.

Stacey O'Brien lived with an owl for almost twenty years. If watching Harry Potter movies has made you wonder what a pet owl would really be like, you need to read Wesley the Owl. Let's just say that I wouldn't want one.

And I empathize with those who've tried living with an owl and decided they didn't like it...but it's cruel to release any pet bird into the wild. At least take it to a nature park, where the burden of having adopted it can be shared by a group of nature lovers until a suitable place for release can be found.

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