Hedgehurst replied on 27/06/2017 21:06
Posted on 27/06/2017 21:06
Just been reading the latest CmC magazine, and as usual, the suggested attractions listed from the sites include at least one Bird of Prey and Owl centre. This, and publicity for an event at Alnwick Castle last weekend, home of Harry Potter and of course owls, prompts me to ask: please, if you ever visit any event showing owls, where handling their feathers or stroking them is a part, at least walk away, and preferable explain clearly why you're doing so.
Such falconers are irresponsible and guilty of animal cruelty. And, as Black Beauty said so truly, "Ignorance is no excuse".
While some handlers seem to encourage owl stroking, and even claim the birds like it, it's at best dangerous and potentially fatal for the owls, however commercially attractive to the handlers. Handling damages owl feathers, and because they're not like other bird feathers, the grease from human hands wrecks their waterproofing. It also severely stresses the birds - they sit still because they're in a flat panic, like rabbits in headlights, not because they like it.
I have this from some truly top historical falconers I used to work alongside at English Heritage and other events; it's a passionate campaign they've waged all their working life. Their only hold on their owls is having them perched on the glove. Last weekend's publicity for Alnwick included a picture of a Dumbledore character holding a white owl by its feathers. My friends, who also frequently work there, were outraged, protested, and Alnwick to their credit quickly took the picture down; but it's an image the public likes.
So next time you, or your children/grandchildren are offered the chance to stroke an owl, please don't, no matter how appealing it seems, no matter whatever anyone else is doing, or claims. It is cruel, and more people need to know about it. Flying is what owls are about, not being stroked. The only way to experience an owl feather is if the handlers offer round one that's been moulted.
Thanks for passing this round, for the owls' health.
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