Harry Potter Linked to Owl Neglect

By Allyson Koerner, Ecorazzi

It’s no secret that the “Harry Potter” books and films are pretty powerful and influential, but did you know it may be the cause of the abandonment of hundreds of pet owls?

According to the Mirror, fans of the J.K. Rowling series bought owls because of the books and now that the craze has faded, so has the love for their pets. As a result, sanctuaries are now full of abandoned owls and it is feared that some owners have released the wise creatures illegally into the wild, where they’ll most likely starve to death and/or take over areas where smaller wild owls live.

If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know, Harry Potter, the main character of the seven books, has his own owl called Hedwig, and furthermore owls deliver mail to and from the witch and wizard school of Hogwarts.

Similar to the characters, fans became obsessed with owls, but they aren’t easy creatures to take care of and can live for about 20 years. Like most animals, owls come with commitment, but now people don’t want to take that responsibility seriously.

“Before the films were out I had six owls, now it’s 100. It’s all down to Harry Potter,” Pam Toothill of the Owlcentre in Corwen, North Wales said. “People saw Harry’s owl in the movies and thought how cute and cuddly they looked. Now they are bored and fed-up with all the work involved looking after an owl.”

Toothill also said, “I know it’s not J.K. Rowling’s fault, but people didn’t think enough about buying an owl before getting one. Owls need enough space to be able to flap their wings five times before landing back on a perch, or they get a chest infection.

“But we had one lady who was keeping two owls in her bedside cabinet in her bedroom. And there was a chap with a European Eagle Owl, which has a 5 feet wingspan, in his one-bedroom flat. It’s insane.”

Just like having a dog or cat, owning an owl is legal, but if you’re caught releasing an owl you can go to jail for six months or pay a fine over $7,000.

Even author Rowling has pleaded with fans to not keep an owl as a pet. “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.’

“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,” she said.

In 2010, India also experienced its own owl catastrophe. Parents were capturing wild owls as gifts for their children, and some were trading and killing birds for the use of black magic rituals during the Hindu holiday of Diwali.

Owls are not to be taken for granted and abandoned. Please rethink such actions, before causing harm to these creatures.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

James B.

7:10PM PDT on May 19, 2013

May 19
send a green star

Debbi R.

1:56PM PDT on May 19, 2013

thanks

Duane B.

1:42PM PDT on May 19, 2013

Thank you for sharing.

Angie V.

11:12PM PST on Mar 7, 2013

Wow....... but every person is responsible for their own actions..... can't really blame the whole deal on a book.

March 7
send a green star

Alex S.

9:13AM PST on Feb 13, 2013

oh, this is sad

February 13
send a green star

Waltraud U.

12:22PM PST on Nov 18, 2012

omg - which infantilistic persons and law we have.
ty

November 18
send a green star

Manel D.

4:56PM PST on Nov 17, 2012

How many times it should be told that the creatures like Owls are belong in the wild. Why some idiotic people keep exploiting the jungle creatures inhibitants and ruining the natural habitats and also making these innocent animals suffer. LEAVE THE WILD ANIMALS IN THE WILD. People who violate the laws should be prosecuted.

November 17
send a green star

rene d.

1:45AM PDT on Oct 5, 2012

bloody moron parents giving kids owls for presents.

October 5
send a green star

Dale O.

8:22AM PDT on Jul 31, 2012

Interesting but one can hardly blame J.K. Rowling or any other author for starting a craze in some people going off on their own merry way, deluding themselves into believing that animal X or bird Z is something one "Just Has To Have!" because they either read about it or saw it on film. The book is not the cause, but the idiocy of some people in general. Just because you read or see something does not mean you have to run out and bring it home!

It may be suitable for those type of people to rush out and bring home pet rocks for instance but people write about a variety of subjects and if this prompts some to rush out and find one for their very own...they need a lot of education in certain matters

Owls certainly belong in the wild doing their usual things such as hunting mice and flying by the moonlight with the bats keeping them company flying nearby on occasion.

One person seemed to be against people having cats or dogs which is ridiculous, in this case the animals were domesticated eons ago and ethical/knowledgeable persons already know about spaying/neutering these companions along with other essential care.

July 31
send a green star

Kynthia R.

5:25AM PDT on Jul 13, 2012

There is nothing cute and cuddly about an owl. Those beaks and talons are razor sharp nd are designed for tearing meat from a body, whether its a rodent or your finger.

Exotics are not pets. A falconer may have success with raising and training an owl, but even becoming a falconer takes years and years of education practice and a daily dose of learning.