Just wondering if anyone of you have owls as pets? Or if you know anyone who have them as pets. Lol I just suddenly thought about it while rewatching Harry Potter. Obviously, magical owls or something like that will be different to real life owls but I’ve seen people on ig have unusual pets so I thought I’d ask.
Farley Mowat wrote a book called Owls in the Family that I read when I was a kid. I remembered it, until I looked it up on Wikipedia, as a true memoir, but it was fiction, according to the specific article on the book, but was autobiographical, according to the main article on Mowat. I remain confused as to whether Mowat actually had two great horned owls as pets.
At least in the US there’s the whole legal thing . . .
(They are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Under the same law, you cannot even possess one of their feathers without a permit from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.)
Oh yeah, I forgot about that for a minute. I found a barred owl dead on the road once and called a taxidermist buddy to ask how much it would cost to mount it. He told me there wasn’t enough money in the world to get him to take on that job unless a scientist or a university brought him the specimen.
While Mowat’s books are very readable; I gather from more than one source (seen in passing long ago – can’t cite, I’m afraid), that he tended not to let the truth get in the way of a good story.
A small bit of searching, happened to turn up a 2002 thread on this very subject.
http:boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=130401
General consensus there, seems to be that owls make definitely less-than-wonderful pets.
I am hopeless at doing links – the above attempt at same, does not function. Anyway, the thread is titled “Pet Owls” – from 2002, as said – searching with key word “Mowat” will bring it up.
Here ya go (ya missed the // after http: ):
Thanks ! I’ll learn, one day (maybe about 2030 :o ).
Trying to turn wild animals into pets is just a bad idea in general.
I used to work in zoo education, and cared for and handled a non-releasable great horned owl. You couldn’t pay me to keep one in my house. They’re just not good pets.
[Moderating]
Moving from CS to IMHO.
I live near the International Owl Center (https://www.internationalowlcenter.org/), and the director had an owl with a broken wing that is used for educational purposes. She actually has a few. Though “pets” isn’t the right term IMHO.
Owls as Pets - International Owl Center - International Owl Center
Brian
Owl say!
Hoot, mon!
Ah, I did not know that! Thanks for sharing! I looked it up after reading your reply and saw this. Apparently if you have an owl even for educational purposes, you will still need permits.
Thanks for the link! I didn’t realize there was already an existing thread about it.
Oh yea, I definitely agree. But it seems like some people like the idea of those pet fads…
If you like to work with birds, I suggest you find a rescue center nearby and volunteer to assist. That way you can enjoy them without the hassle of having a pet. There is a bird sanctuary near me that has eagles, owls, and vultures, and they often take birds to nature shows. They can always use some help and it’s very educational for all.
Owls are occasionally (well, rarely) used in falconry, so you could legally possess one - your state rules permitting - if you first obtained a falconry license. But note that falconers do not consider - or treat - their animals as pets.
Being generally nocturnal animals that hunt by sound rather than sight, they would probably be challenging to work with, and very different from hawks and falcons.
That could be rather startling at first. Imagine taking the owl out at night. It’s out there waiting for your signal to return. You hold up your arm, do whatever the signal is and suddenly -whushle- there it is, perched on your arm, appearing nearly completely silently out of the gloom like magic
What word would you use? Work animal? Tool?
I’d think “working animal” is sufficient. Think of all the LGDs (Livestock Guard Dogs) out there. They usually sleep with their flock or herd or whatever, because they consider themselves to be one of them (sheep, usually) and don’t really play with humans much.
Feral barn cats, same thing. They’re rarely given names, or allow themselves to be touched. Not pets, to most people.