Barn Owls for sale! (Advert seen in paper) (1 Viewer)

[Trevor Lee]

Hi all can anyone tell me the legal situation on this advert. My wife found the advertisement in the local paper for two Male barn owls for sale at £70.00 the pair.

Surely this is not legal? Is there no law to protect the Birds being sold on to any one?

is there an organisation other than the RSPCA (not impressed with them) that we could advise?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Regards

Trevor

 

[Birdspotter]

Hi all can anyone tell me the legal situation on this advert. My wife found the advertisement in the local paper for two Male barn owls for sale at £70.00 the pair.

Surely this is not legal? Is there no law to protect the Birds being sold on to any one?

is there an organisation other than the RSPCA (not impressed with them) that we could advise?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Regards

Trevor

Hi Trevor
As far as I am aware Barn Owl is commonly kept in captivity, as such there is no law against selling them on, much as a breeder of say Budgies would do.

 

[Bubbs]

Perfectly legal.

John.

 

[StevieEvans]

£70 for a pair of males... !

Sadly free or £10 / £15 or so up here.

Hari Potter should have that broomstick rammed where the sun doesn't shine.....

SE

 

[KnockerNorton]

There are about 5 times as many captive barn owls in Britain than there are wild ones, and they usually go for about 20-40 pounds each. They need to be closed-rung and have documentation. You also need a licence to sell them, I think.

Anyway, it's all perfectly legal. The birds haven't seen the wild for dozens of generations.

 

[willowa]

If this is legal then the law needs to change.
What do RSPB think?

 

[KnockerNorton]

If this is legal then the law needs to change.
What do RSPB think?

Why? What's the difference between a captive barn owl and a captive budgie or homing pigeon? There are lots of British native species that are bred in captivity, and many bear little resemblance to wild ancestors. What's special about barn owls? Do you have a problem with captive Goshawks, used in falconry, too?

 

[willowa]

Why? What's the difference between a captive barn owl and a captive budgie or homing pigeon? There are lots of British native species that are bred in captivity, and many bear little resemblance to wild ancestors. What's special about barn owls? Do you have a problem with captive Goshawks, used in falconry, too?

It depends on where they are kept and how. I don`t belive in selling animals or birds to people without good knowadge of how to look after them. Some people only want barn owls since the Harry Potter films because their children want them. That`s not good for the poor barn owl. People only wanted dalmatians because of the film.

Maybe a licence to show they have the corect facilities for keeping such birds.

 

[KnockerNorton]

It depends on where they are kept and how. I don`t belive in selling animals or birds to people without good knowadge of how to look after them. Some people only want barn owls since the Harry Potter films because their children want them. That`s not good for the poor barn owl. People only wanted dalmatians because of the film.

Maybe a licence to show they have the corect facilities for keeping such birds.

they are protected under various animal welfare acts. What you're proposing doesn't even exist for children, let alone owls.

 

[luke]

don't forget people that barn owls and any other captive bird of prey generally have good lives, they are flown daily (hunted with if a goshawk or similar) fed a good quality diet and usually have good sized accomodation, unfortunatly there are a minority that don't keep them properly. i work at my local owl sanctuary and we house alot of unwanted owls or ones that have been mistreated, and i agree that there should be firmer regulations for keeping BoP and owls.
But don't forget it is only a minority!

 

[Strandman]

We had a bit of a shot at this on the long-running but currently dormant Eagle Owl thread.

I agree that it would be over the top to introduce licences keeping of Barn Owls etc.- it costs money to run a scheme and that is money which is better spent elsewhere.

But for species which potentially present ecological and other implications if they escape- like Eagle Owl- I would be in favour of a requirement for keepers to be licensed.

 

[KnockerNorton]

We had a bit of a shot at this on the long-running but currently dormant Eagle Owl thread.

I agree that it would be over the top to introduce licences keeping of Barn Owls etc.- it costs money to run a scheme and that is money which is better spent elsewhere.

But for species which potentially present ecological and other implications if they escape- like Eagle Owl- I would be in favour of a requirement for keepers to be licensed.

How is owning a license for an eagle owl going to stop it escaping? If you've paid 200 quid for one, you're not going to *want* it to escape, and it's already illegal to deliberately release non-native animals.

 

[Strandman]

How is owning a license for an eagle owl going to stop it escaping?]

It isn't. Suggestion is more as a marker that EO is a sensitive species that should not be acquired without serious thought ahead of purchase.

[If you've paid 200 quid for one, you're not going to *want* it to escape,]

I don't disagree.

[and it's already illegal to deliberately release non-native animals.]

I don't disagree.

Although as an aside once EO reaches Cat C it will probably also qualify as "ordinarily resident", which would take it outside the prohibition on release in W&C Act which I guess is what you are referring to. So IMHO ahead of that EO should be added to the list of things like er Barn Owls that you can't release without licence even if they qualify as ordinarily resident.

 

[Steve Harris]

Selling Barn Owls

Hi all can anyone tell me the legal situation on this advert. My wife found the advertisement in the local paper for two Male barn owls for sale at £70.00 the pair.

Surely this is not legal? Is there no law to protect the Birds being sold on to any one?

is there an organisation other than the RSPCA (not impressed with them) that we could advise?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Regards

Trevor

Trevor,

I know you asked ages ago about this but I have only just seen your question and noticed that nobody advised you properly. Just for your info, the law does not require captive barn owls to be registered. However, the law does insist that, to qualify for sale, barn owls must be captive bred and wear a close ring. This is a continuous metal ring of a size that can be slipped on to the leg of a nestling but not onto an adult. This procedure is intended to prevent wild adults being caught and sold.

The letters 'ABCR' which often appear in barn owl advertisements stand for “Aviary Bred Close Ringed”. (However, advertisements without these letters may still refer to birds that can be legally sold.)

It is illegal to sell or attempt to sell any barn owl that is not both captive bred and close ringed. The legal definition of 'captive bred' includes the proviso that the bird’s parents must themselves be captive bred.

As a result of 1997 legislation the sale of a barn owl, or commercial use of such a bird, also requires an “Article 10” certificate to accompany the bird. Application forms for these can be obtained from Defra.

 

[totaljohn]

Some people only want barn owls since the Harry Potter films because their children want them..

i don't know if this is the case but isn't hedwig in fact a snowy owl?

 

[On-Firecrest]

i don't know if this is the case but isn't hedwig in fact a snowy owl?

She is a Snowy Owl, but then to the sort of people who want one, an Owl is an Owl.

 

[totaljohn]

She is a Snowy Owl, but then to the sort of people who want one, an Owl is an Owl.

that is true. i went to a fancy dress birthday do as a short-eared owl and a few people thought i was hedwig.

yes i am very eccentric.

 

[aikidoka]

Ah, but Hedwig did become a barn owl, at least for a while (if the cover of the Chamber of Secrets is to be believed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42735000/jpg/_42735193_hp_kids2_gal.jpg).

 

[totaljohn]

Ah, but Hedwig did become a barn owl, at least for a while (if the cover of the Chamber of Secrets is to be believed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42735000/jpg/_42735193_hp_kids2_gal.jpg).

ridiculous, i shall write a letter to the publisher immediately.

 

[iolar]

can anyone own a falcon/hawk/eagle in UK?