For Release November 27, 2001

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

People my age, and older, may remember an advertisement for a rather tasteless horror movie of a few decades ago. The movie was supposed to be so scary that viewers were instructed to keep telling themselves, "It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie."

The first Harry Potter movie was released this month. While I have not yet seen the movie, and will admit that I have read none of the books, owls are very prominent in the movie based on what I’ve seen in commercials and what others have said. Hopefully, this won’t create a sudden desire, by the young Harry Potter fans, to want an owl as a pet. If it does, parents need to tell their children, "It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie."

Owls have long been the subject of mystery and fascination. Like bats, they are denizens of the night and are shrouded in rumors and myths. There are over 200 species world wide, and some researchers feel that this number should be over 300. Owls are more common than most people realize. They simply are active at a time when we either aren’t outside or we can not see what they are doing. Owls are carnivores. They eat live animals, the smaller ones will eat large insects. Contrary to the impression that you may get from the Harry Potter movie, owls do not make good pets.

Let’s start with the fact that owls are protected species. They are protected by numerous state and federal laws. Live owls, dead owls, even owl feathers require permits for you to have these in your possession. The permits are not easy to obtain especially for individuals who simply may want to have an owl mount in their house, let alone a live owl. If you are caught with a live or dead owl and no permit, it can be very costly.

The movie was filmed in Great Britain. Even in Great Britain there are extensive permitting procedures that these people had to go through to be able to use the owls in the movie. Some of the special scenes even utilized mechanical owls in place of live owls.

Owls, especially the ones used in the movie, can be large birds. There were at least five different species of owls used in the movie. These owls range in size from the Barn Owl, which stands 16 inches tall with a wing span of about 43 inches and weighing a pound and a quarter to the Eurasian Eagle Owl which stand 27 inches tall, has a wing span of 66 inches and can weigh over six pounds. These birds require a lot of room in captivity. They can not simply be kept in a pet carrier and hauled out when you want to look at them. They need room to move about and exercise.

Owls are very powerful creatures. Their talons (claws in mammals) are sharp and the muscles that control them very strong. They can easily pierce human flesh which is why handlers always wear a leather glove. Owls are not easily trained. They are creatures of instinct and reaction. Up until a few years ago, it was generally considered impossible to train a Snowy Owl. These are not cute and cuddly pets. They are awesome and powerful animals that take a lot of time and very special care.

Sure, the scenes in the movie are pretty incredible. But don’t for a minute let your children think that they need an owl for a pet. Take the chance to teach them about owls. There are some wonderful web sites on the Internet that I can steer you towards. But as for Christmas, buy them a toy owl. It’ll be cheaper, safer, and require much less care!

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