Pet Owls For Sale

Illegal Animals: Photos from the International Black-Market

By Frank Cooper | Jul 18, 2011 11:41 AM EDT

The international animal trade is thriving, and smugglers are illegally hunting, buying and selling species ranging from Tigers to Turtles.

Depending on the species, the animals are sold either alive or dead. Buyers are looking for strange animals for a plethora of reasons. Some seek exotic animals, such as big cats and rare parrots, for pets. Others believe that certain animal parts have medicinal properties.

In the Philippines, for example, the government has just issued an official statement condemning the sale of geckos, which many south Asians believe will cure diseases as diverse asthma and AIDS. Although illegal, the lizard-smuggling business is booming in the Philippines. An 11-ounce gecko can be sold for more than 50,000 pesos ($1,160) on the black market.

"The use of geckos as treatments has no scientific basis and could be dangerous because patients might not seek proper treatment for their diseases," a Health Department statement said.

"For diseases like asthma, there are now very effective treatments that are easily available and at affordable prices that can provide relief from asthma. With regular treatment, asthmatics can successfully control asthmatic symptoms and live a comfortable, healthy life," the DOH said.

Many of the other species on sale are either endangered or protected, or both. Small turtles and crocodiles fetch thousands of dollars in Thailand, for example, and the international Ivory trade is well documented, but still rampant.

A three-month old white-cheeked gibbon looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok May 13, 2011. Thai police arrested a UAE citizen just after midnight today as he was preparing to fly first class from Bangkok to Dubai with various rare and endangered animals in his suitcases, which included four leopards, one Malayan sun bear, one white-cheeked gibbon, one black-tufted marmoset, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys.

A newborn baby pangolin climbs the walls of a cage during a news conference at Thai customs in Bangkok April 20, 2011. The Thai custom office showed 175 pangolins they found hidden in a truck heading into Bangkok early this morning. Pangolins, or Manis Javanica, listed as endangered species in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), are found in Southeast Asia. Some people believe that its meat and blood can enhance sexual virility.

Can you keep owls as pets in the US?

What I cannot understand is why, if you love owls so much you would want to have one in captivity?

KEEPING OWLS AS PETS

Despite their decline in the wild, Barn Owls breed very easily in captivity and there is a large population of legitimate captive birds in the UK. This has led to a propensity of owls being offered for sale through the likes of local papers, car boot sales, etc.

However, our basic advice to those who may be considering keeping an owl as a pet is – DON’T. To begin with, owls do not make very good pets. Beautiful, majestic and as awe-inspiring as they may be, in captivity they can be noisy, smelly and dirty and will need a lot of your time, care & attention. They require a regular, specialist diet, and in our opinion to be kept properly they need a large, purpose-built aviary which can be expensive to build and maintain.

Also, it should be considered that owls are predators. They can be quick, powerful and with the sharp talons they use to kill prey, extremely dangerous – especially for children. Even falconers with many years experience of bird handling have lost eyes or been severely scarred by wayward captive raptors.

With the heightened awareness of owls amongst youngsters due to the success of the “Harry Potter” books and films, author J.K. Rowling has made a strong plea to fans not to copy their hero by keeping owls as pets.

She says, “If anybody has been influenced by my books to think an owl would be happiest shut in a small cage and kept in a house, I would like to take this opportunity to say as forcefully as I can: You are wrong.

“The owls in Harry Potter books were never intended to portray the true behavior or preference of real owls. If your owl-mania seeks concrete expression, why not sponsor an owl at a bird sanctuary where you can visit and know that you have secured him or her a happy, healthy life.”

Keeping Owls is really the province of the experts, and you will find that there is plenty of advice and information available about the proper environment and conditions in which owls can be kept available from organisations like the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, who have experienced falconers on hand; have specialised information available on the care & conservation of owls and run courses on the subject.

There are two owls that are in competition for the smallest owl in the world; the Northern Pygmy Owl and the Elf Owl; either one could be classified as such depending on the individual being measured.

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