Harry Potter Fans Abandon Pet Owls, find that they make bad pets

[Liberal_in_LA]

I heard a radio news story about this yesterday. said that people don't realize that owls make bad pets:

1. They will kill and eat other small pets - kittens, rats, mice, Guinea pigs.
2. Their talons and beak are made for slicing through flesh and bone (so no cuddling)
3. their up making noise at night while the Harry Potter fan is sleeping

..other unpleasant stuff.

The Harry Potter craze is fading out and careless pet guardians are abandoning their owls. Many wanted to have an owl as a pet, just like Harry’s Hedwig, but few realized that owls live for 20 years and need lots of space to spread their wings. The same incident happened with pet turtles during the height of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Pets aren’t fads. Prospective pet guardians should do their research and be able to make a full commitment to their pets. Still want a Harry Potter owl? Try the stuffed variety. They are a breeze to clean up after! — Global Animal

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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.

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“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.”

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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.”

http://www.globalanimal.org/2012/05/23/harry-potter-fans-abandon-pet-owls/74761/

[NV Whino]

1. Maybe people shouldn't be selling owls

In the U.S. there are laws against owning birds of prey. Which is not to give a pass to the idiots who bought them without knowing how to care for them.

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt

[Son of Gob]

3. Stupid Muggles

Owls are for Wizards.

[hifiguy]

13. Yep, there are some things Muggles aren't meant

to mess with.

[Wiegee]

4. Silly muggles

everyone knows toy hippogriffs are where it's at.

[Bolo Boffin]

5. I hate things like this.

I have neighbors at my condo with a Great Dane. Even the largest floorplan my condos have isn't enough for a Great Dane. I hope it gets enough exercise somewhere, because it can't possibly in an apartment or the micro dog park on our lot.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Witness the explosion of sales of Dalmations after the...

Live action " 101 Dalmations movie came out. So many given up because people didn't know what they were getting into.

[dflprincess]

10. Actually Great Danes are okay for apartments

they aren't hyper & like being couch potatos. They are indoor dogs that don't need a lot of excerise besides a regular walk - and they have no great desire to run off energy.

I thought they'd be awful apartment dogs as well until my friend's son & daughter-in-law got one and educated all of us who were horrified that they'd have such a large dog inside a fairly small apartment. One of the most mellow dogs I ever met though it was hard to get him to make room for humans on "his" couch.

So, if you can tolerate an animal taking up so much space, go for it.

[Bolo Boffin]

12. Well, I don't want one, but

it would be nice to not feel bad when I see this one. Good to know!

[longship]

7. Burmese Pythons in FL!

How's that working out?

Oh! And pet monkeys or chimps, both of which like to fling poo.

Don't get me started about pet large game cats which, when they inevitably grow up and become unmanageable, often get sold to exclusive game hunting clubs where they come to a very unpleasant end and become something like a stuffed head mounted above the mantelpiece.

I'm no PETA fan, but some animals are not pets.

[Skip Intro]

8. I feel for those awesome birds. Then again, I don't think it right to

cage any bird. They were meant to fly, not sit on display in a house so the "owner" can admire it from time to time.

[tawadi]

9. People can be so stupid. eom

[XemaSab]

11. I'm surprised that it's legal there

Keeping a native owl as a pet certainly wouldn't be legal here.

[RedCappedBandit]

14. Never understood birds as pets

Why cage an animal that is meant to FLY?