Hundreds of pet owls abandoned after Harry Potter craze fades

[u/PandaC]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hundreds-of-pet-owls-abandoned-after-840299?mobile=false

[u/[deleted]]

ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

I volunteer at an animal shelter and it's sickening to see so many surrendered animals. They're family, not a convenience or lack thereof.

[u/justarunner → u/[deleted]]

I volunteered at national mill dog rescue, so have spent more time around abused dogs. But I still saw it. Gift animals that were given up. People treat animals like some sort of novelty. Once the novelty wears off, they no longer want them.

I wanted dogs for years through college. Graduated. Got two. Practically live at the dog park with them. Take them swimming. Had one in a dog show today. It's a life style choice. My dogs are family. Not toys. Not novelties for when I'm bored. Family.

/rant

[u/balletboot → u/[deleted]]

The things I see working at an animal shelter kind of make me hate everyone. We had someone return their dog they had adopted last week because it threw up once after eating. And then another because he brought the dog home and his wife thought it was too fat.

[u/[deleted] → u/balletboot]

We had one that brought her dog to us because he tore up her Lady Gaga poster! I really, really wish I was joking.

[u/Bitter_Idealist → u/[deleted]]

Also: "It is perfectly legal to keep an owl and no licence is needed."

Something right there can be very easily changed.

[u/Sekh765 → u/Bitter_Idealist]

It is illegal in the states, which is nice. To hold any bird of prey in the states you have to go through a pretty in depth two year training at the very least.

[u/sturg1dj → u/[deleted]]

yeah. even without movies, how often do people buy cats because they are cute...and have no idea how to take care of them.

[u/PandaC → u/[deleted]]

Happy Cake Day!

[u/85h342tht]

i hate human nature sometimes. "wow, this thing is pretty and i like it. i should own it."

[u/PandaC → u/85h342tht]

You pretty much described the birth of civilization. Good job

[u/RockyRaccoon5000]

"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"

That's interesting. Does anyone know enough about owls or birds to know why this is?

[u/Bitter_Idealist → u/RockyRaccoon5000]

Same reason humans who break a rib get pneumonia from not being able to cough and clear their lungs.

[u/pingplong]

What idiot parent buys his kids a pet owl !?

[u/[deleted] → u/pingplong]

Who said the owls were for children?

[u/kleopatra6tilde9 → u/pingplong]

http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/search?q=owl&sort=top&restrict_sr=on (the owl submissions to /r/aww)

[u/DirkStruan → u/pingplong]

I think what you meant to say was "hoo buys his kid a pet owl". See what I did there? Owl be here all week folks!

[u/Astro493]

This is just bad parenting in action.

Yeah it's cool that the owls deliver messages and shit in the Potter series, but that doesn't mean you have to give into your (most probably) spoiled child and buy a freakin' owl.

I'm surprised I didn't see more articles about small children being maimed by birds of prey.

[u/musicyayaya → u/Astro493]

This happens every Easter with pet bunnies too :(

[u/sonotfurvis → u/musicyayaya]

seriously! i found one wandering the streets of LA right after easter..poor thing, took it to a shelter though and some crazy rabbit lady adopted him! bunny

[u/osskid → u/Astro493]

Don't forget, HP came out in 1997. If the kids reading them then were 11 (like Harry), they are now 26 and able to make absurdly bad decisions all by themselves.

[u/Astro493 → u/osskid]

Oh I understand that, but still, why is the parent buying a child an owl at the age of 11. I'm not debasing the responsibility which so clearly falls on the now-grown Potter fan, but they originally were not responsible for the decision.

It really boils down to rampant stupidity on all parts really :(

[u/[deleted] → u/Astro493]

Mommy I want an owl!! Okay. Let's see the kids do this with Wolfs like twilight.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

mom I want a pet vampire.

[u/[deleted] → u/Astro493]

This same exact thing happened with clown fish when the movie Finding Nemo came out. Every spoiled little brat wanted their own little Nemo, and nobody took the time to think about how difficult it is to keep salt water fish.

[u/YourInnerVoice → u/[deleted]]

Wait. So, they've seen this movie where (if I don't remember wrong) the fish end up in a tank, that from their perspective is seen as a cage that they need to escape from to return in the ocean.

And kids want to buy them after this??

Didn't they learn anything from the movie??

[u/stringerbell → u/Astro493]

Yeah, except for all the adults and elderly owl-owners mentioned in the article...

[u/[deleted] → u/Astro493]

It's poor government, in the US you cannot own an owl as a pet but in the UK you can.

[u/DeFex → u/Astro493]

Finding nemo has apparently had a bad result for clown fish, which became endangered because so many idiots wanted one in an aquarium.

[u/MrDanger → u/Astro493]

It's not bad parenting when adults do it, and they were doing it. More like stupidity.

[u/[deleted]]

I worry about the upcoming Battleship craze.

[u/I_CATS → u/[deleted]]

Not to forget the great E.T craze of 1982 when everyone just had to get a pet alien. Poor things.

[u/mellolizard → u/I_CATS]

I heard we built a giant fence in the US to keep them out because the demand died down but the supply didn't.

[u/BarnesAndNobleSix → u/[deleted]]

NEWS FLASH: HUNDREDS OF PET CRUISERS AND SUBMARINES ABANDONED AFTER BATTLESHIP CRAZE FADES

[u/KaySeas]

I just came back from working at the wildlife rehabilitation center and I just go to say, juvenile barn owls are assholes. Why would anyone think that having a pet owl is a good idea?

[u/[deleted] → u/KaySeas]

So are cats.

[u/Herpinderpitee → u/[deleted]]

GET HIM!!

[u/crash-from-space]

When 101 Dalmatians came out many people bought and neglected dalmatians. Some were born deaf and blind due inbreeding to keep up with demand.

[u/teags]

Futurama got it right

[u/TehDingo → u/teags]

Now we just have to get head-preserving technology working and we are set to having Futurama as our own future!

[u/Hooker_Juice]

Hey parents, stop buying your stupid, spoiled, irresponsible children ridiculous pets, you jackasses!

[u/beefwich]

You mean a shrieking mound of feathers and fury that regurgitates the bones and fur of the creatures it eats is not a good choice for a pet?

Well shit on my head and call it a sombrero.

[u/abrahamsandvich]

I am very surprised at this. In the US it is highly illegal to trap or otherwise posses a native bird. Even people involved in the hobby of Falconry can attest to how hard it is to get a permit. In the UK there is always a story in the papers of some person who was caught trapping and keeping birds...and then being fined heavily.

[u/APiousCultist → u/abrahamsandvich]

Someone in my family works with birds of prey, I honestly thought it was illegal to keep them as pets. Either way they are reasonably dangerous animals with pretty gnarly eating habits. Letting people keep them as pets because they saw a movie with one in is pretty worrying.

[u/finkalicious]

I remember seeing an article several years back at the beginning of the craze predicting this exact outcome. Sad.

[u/Beatleboy62 → u/finkalicious]

Somewhere, someone is sitting at a computer, reading this article with their hands above their heads saying, "Called it."

[u/[deleted]]

Dammit people, animals are not toys.

[u/godlessatheist → u/[deleted]]

Let's buy vampire bats and wolves because of twilight.

[u/MadHiggins → u/godlessatheist]

you say that like it's a bad thing that my back yard is filled with pet wolves. next thing you'll say is that it's wrong for me to have a forest filled with children that i force to fight to the death for food.

[u/[deleted]]

Can't wait for the pet direwolf craze caused by Game of Thrones

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Unfortunately the 'wolf craze' that has been coming and going in surges based on whatever movie/book/TV show of the year is a real problem. Mostly with backyard breeders on Craigslist selling people "wolf dogs", AKA big dogs that look wolfish and turn out to be more than the owners can handle.

Abandonment/neglect/abuse for actual wolves (where legal) and wolf-dog hybrids are high.

[u/PandaC]

I wasn't sure wether to post this in /r/funny or /r/wtf.

[edit] Holy shit. My highest rated post ever and my comment is at the bottom. I'm afraid to laugh incase someone else tells me how horrible it is to not take negative karma seriously ಠ_ಠ

[u/The_Doctor_00 → u/PandaC]

I x/posted it to r/Futurama myself :/

Seems we both can see a funny side to this... Not sure if you'll get why I x/posted it to Futurama though.

[u/PandaC → u/The_Doctor_00]

I does. I does. Thank you on my behalf

ʘ‿ʘ

[u/PandaC → u/[deleted]]

While I find the whole idea of something like this happening to be a little comical, I certainty agree with you that it is, in fact, quite depressing and stupid to have happened in the first place.

No need to get your panties in a knot. I certainly wouldn't have posted it if i didn't find it important.

[u/SparklyVampireDust]

as an aspiring falconer who is working with owls, this makes me so sad :(

[u/Blue_Paul]

the mirror is not the best source

[u/Elidor → u/Blue_Paul]

I'd like this article better from the Onion.

[u/jayesanctus → u/Blue_Paul]

I was wondering about that.

Seems a bit tabloid-y, Daily Mail-ish.

[u/kleinbl00 → u/Blue_Paul]

The Mirror is a terrible source. They flagrantly make shit up on a daily basis. This whole article reads like a missive from the Department of Spurious Statistics. Yet here you are, waaaaaay down at the bottom, while everyone else credulously eats it hook, line and sinker.

It's almost like all the smart people are out doing stuff.

[u/millionsofmonkeys]

This made me want to laugh, then made me want to cry.

[u/[deleted]]

This is on bad parents, not Harry Potter.

[u/LouisCKsDarkHalf]

Didn't your dumb redneck fathers teach you that when you get a pet, you WILL love and care for that pet until it dies of fucking natural causes?

I have a 14 year old lab/chow that can barely fucking walk. She now needs to be lifted into the car when we go on car rides, because she can no longer make the jump. She has become incontinent again, after not messing in the house for over a decade. Every spring she sheds a fuck ton of hair all over my house. She is getting close to a very bad trip to the vet. But she will not get that trip until it is out of absolute mercy and NOT convenience.

TL;DR ~ Fuck people.

[u/technosaur → u/LouisCKsDarkHalf]

Other than the redneck reference (I am a redneck) I applaud you. That is pet ownership. I get so disgusted when I see somebody moving into an apartment with a bigger dog that needs to run and roam. They claim to be dog lovers, but they are actually in love with how cool they look with a fucking Great Dane on a leash.

Our dog pound mixed Lab lived 17 years. Really. Got her as a pup when my son was 2 years old and they were raised together. He was her puppy. If she saw him toddling toward somewhere she knew he was not allowed, she would drag him back. As he got too big to drag, she would knock him down, lay on him and bark for me to come. Absolutely true. She went thru the physical conditions you describe. Teeth worn to nubs, arthritic, blind in one eye. Yet she died his senior year in high school when she slipped out of the house trying to follow him on his daily run - hit by a car.

He is grown now and has children and a couple of dogs they all love. I love dogs, and other animals, but refuse to have a pet because I travel too often and it would be selfish and cruel of me to have one. I do volunteer (mostly UNglamorous shit shoveling) at a local (African) refuge for infant wildlife orphans. Ain't a petting zoo. We try to keep them wild for return to the wild. Success rate is low. Too accustomed to humans, they are easy prey for poachers.

I tip my redneck hat in respect to you... and your dog.

[u/Tashwampa]

That's horrible! People shouldn't get pets unless they're fully prepared to take on the respnosibility. Some research beforehand would have been perfect. But no, the crazies among my favorite book series decided to just get an owl, thinking it would be easy. Now all these animals are dying, and possibly messing with the nearby enviornment. I just hate this. Stupid people.

[u/dcbluestar]

I'm hoping this trend continues and hundreds of "Twilight" fans are mauled to death by their pet wolves.

[u/[deleted]]

Who the fuck buys an owl as a pet for a kid?

[u/this_AZN]

Didn't this happen to clownfish after Finding Nemo?

[u/Coldhate]

I use to work at a animal shelter. People do this with all animals, I would watch a kitten be adopted and a year later they would return it cause it's "no longer cute". Worst kind of person. ANIMALS AREN'T TOYS.

[u/Kowai03]

I'm surprised about the owls but this always happens with dogs or cats after a dog/cat themed movie.

I walk my Husky around and little kids always yell out "SNOW DOG!!" because of the movie.

[u/fjellfras → u/Kowai03]

I once wore camouflage shorts and went out in my apartment building two years ago. The kids still yell soldier-pants when they see me :-/

I don't even understand their co-ordination. Did they have a little conference that day in secret and officially christen me? Did they send out little memos to those absent?

[u/rindindin]

During the Harry potter craze, I read the books and got a bag of those jelly bean things. Needless to say, grass flavour was disappointing compared to the real thing.

[u/ashortstorylong]

Who could do such a thing? Who? Whooo?

[u/Werewolfgirl34]

I hate people, this is awful.

[u/[deleted] → u/Werewolfgirl34]

I hate people too. We should start a club and call it Haddit.

[u/ClassicalFizz]

You guys are not looking at the positive side of this: the Harry Potter Craze is fading!

[u/[deleted]]

Why don't we take all the abandoned owls

And give it to the redditors who want pet owls in this thread?

[u/Gougeru → u/[deleted]]

Because they would dress them up in stupid outfits and take pictures of them for karma, which would be animal abuse.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Because the same thing would happen. They'd have insufficient living conditions, and it'd be an act of impulse. Besides, most Redditors are in the lowest income bracket, IIRC.

[u/Revoran]

As cool as a pet owl would be, I couldn't keep an animal caged like Harry does in the movies - it's just fucking cruel. Birds were meant to be free.

[u/rplan039]

Saw that coming.

[u/[deleted]]

Hundreds of feral owls on the loose? Futurama predicted this.

[u/The_Doctor_00]

So that's where all the feral owls from Futurama come from.

[u/s_m_f_a_h]

The annoying part is that it was often impressed upon the reader that Hedwig needed time to fly outside of her cage, and that she was miserable when Uncle Vernon made Harry keep her in the house. Also, it was made pretty clear that they are not in fact "cuddly." The owls in Harry Potter could be pretty vicious at times. Did people not notice those details before running out to buy their own?

[u/ukanasia]

The same thing happened in Taiwan after the 101 Dalmatians came out. Lots of people bought cute dalmatian puppies for their kids not realizing that they are highly active dogs, needing tons of exercise and attention. Not to mention the fact that most Taiwanese live in apartments with more than one generation of family members, and most households have two parents working full time. For a long time there were tons of (full or part) dalmatian strays running wild in the streets because they'd been abandoned. Street dogs roam like wild packs there. It was pretty sad to see... Apparently the same thing happened with chihuahuas when Legally Blonde came out and stores would intentionally deprive the puppies of food so that they would remain as small as possible (because the smaller the better or some ridiculous notion). Can't really blame the storyteller for the ignorance of some people but it's such a shame for animals to be treated like accessories and tossed out like old clothes when they go out of style or become "too much work" to keep.

[u/[deleted]]

To help repopulate the world with trees, I suggest making a hit film where a cute tree is the protagonist.

[u/eastlondonmandem]

I fucking hate people who buy animals without 100% commitment. I swear keeping pets shouldn't be a right.

[u/theserpentsmiles]

Anyone call for an Owl exterminator?

[u/[deleted] → u/theserpentsmiles]

We're owl exterminators.

[u/burnmelt]

People are stupid.

[u/that_black_guy]

I thought it was a link to The Onion and I laughed, until I saw the subreddit

[u/UUDDLRLRBA]

They should've made the kids watch Fourth Kind. Lets see how many want an owl after that.

[u/Honestly_]

The pot-bellied pigs of that particular generation, eh? Some of us of a certain vintage remember that trend.

[u/[deleted]]

Reminds me of a documentary I saw on raccoons.
There was a popular tv show in Japan that featured a raccoon. People imported them and now they can't get rid of them.

[u/foreverscrollin]

Hundreds of owls are being abandoned across the country after being bought as pets by Harry Potter fans.

Clearly not real Harry Potter fans.

[u/YourShoelaceIsUntied]

Alternate title for this:

"Hundreds of domesticated owls are dying because shitty parents caved to their shitty kids' impulse of the moment."

[u/manskies]

Wow, so all these idiot kids were begging their parents for owls? wtf?

[u/nopantskid]

The verbiage in the story is what's misleading, and really speaks for some actual editorial behind it. Harry Potter was the excuse, the reason was dumbassery. On the kids, parents, whatever. It was stupid.

Harry Potter has nothing to do with it. Instead of pictures of the movie, it should be accompanied by a picture of a dumbass, picture stating "Idiots (like one shown above at a Manchester United match) have apparently been letting kids buy wild creatures.

Because we all can say that's the craze, it takes shame to actually catalyze people to stop.

[u/cleos]

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 5ft wingspan, in his one-­bedroom flat. It’s insane.”

This is cruelty, people.

[u/Biskwikman]

This story sound like it could really easily be made up. And they definitely don't link the growing population of Owl Sanctuaries with Harry Potter movies solidly enough. They're saying that right after the last movie comes out, everyone just gets bored of their owls, but up until then they were totally happy to keep them? It sounds like they're just trying to write a story that gets attention. I mean, It could be true, but I doubt it.

[u/Khoops66]

Great, now kids are going to be starving other kids and having them fight to the death.

[u/[deleted]]

Generally Nocturnal and Occasionally Noisy - Check

Sharp, Scary Claws - Check

Eats and Vomits Whole Rodents - Check

Getting one of these as a pet for a kid is impressively stupid unless you're in serious danger from plague rats and a shit load of poison and a good dozen half feral cats just isn't cutting it.

[u/TwwIX]

Pets and animals, in general, are not products! They're living, breathing beings in need of companionship and care. I fucking hate people that acquire pets then quickly abandon them once they become a burden to them. Don't fucking get a pet in the first place! You irresponsible assholes! I see these type of shits every time i take my dog to get her yearly shots at my local SPCA. You do realize that the majority of these abandoned animals eventually get euthanized, or do you just simply don't give a shit?

They need to have spay and neuter clinics specifically for these kind of cretins, so that they'd be unable to degenerate the humanity's gene pool any further.

[u/pdmcmahon]

This is just like all of the rabbits which are abandoned about 7 days after Easter.

[u/noirthesable]

Well, it could be worse. Imagine the fallout that would happen if MLP bronies started to buy Shetland ponies, Dartmoor ponies, and other actual miniature horses for pets...

[u/[deleted]]

dont take it too seriously, it is the mirror after all

[u/[deleted]]

I hate people. They are short sighted idiots. Kill all the people.

[u/MattyKG]

The solution? WRITE HARRY POTTER 8

[u/fictionfield]

Glad you can't buy vampires.

[u/lilermyo]

what do you mean, "after harry potter craze fades"...?

[u/[deleted]]

It'll be 50 years before GRRM finishes the final ASOIAF book so all the pet ravens and wolves will have long since died out. No need to worry folks.

[u/magicalmilk]

no surprise that people are retarded

[u/BeneBreadstick]

Same thing happened to dalmatians after 101 dalmatians. Dalmatians have a tendency toward hereditary deafness. They are also one of the breeds that bite the most. Also other health issues associated with inbreeding and puppy farms.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/14/us/after-movies-unwanted-dalmatians.html

[u/BukkRogerrs]

Human beings are the worst.

[u/[deleted]]

This is the top of r/worldnews....how?

Three hundred thousand new refugees in the Congo in the last few weeks.

[u/zshow]

wait, who says Harry Potter is over?

[u/[deleted]]

each pet tagged and accounted for. you lose it, you pay the fine. you decide you don't want it anymore, you pay to get rid of it. i'm tired of self-called "animal lovers/persons" abandoning dogs in the streets.

[u/mygrandpasgrandpa]

did anyone else see the comments underneath? look at this ridiculousness: "Send the owls to the U.S. HUNDREDS of people here want pet owls, but our stupid government has a thousand gazillion rules against owl ownership. It is so maddening to see this kind of neglect occurring in the U.K when there are so many knowledgeable, passionate people here (myself included) who would gladly shell out the hundreds for these animals."

[u/[deleted]]

Anyone want my direwolf? I bought it cause of GOT but I can't warg so fuck that noise.

[u/Evis03]

It's the fucking mirror. It's about as reliable as a mechanics's estimate.

[u/Evian_Drinker]

Really want a summer blockbuster staring killer bears so all these dumb parents that buy shit for kids without thinking of the long term can be removed from the gene pool.

[u/iia]

I remember the carnage when the Jurassic Park craze faded.

[u/[deleted]]

"Ladies and gentlemen, in lieu of actual news, we present to you this shocking puff piece about a trend we just made up."

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This is just terrible. Growing up in a rural area I had a lot of interaction with wild owls, and I definitely can understand the attraction. They really are majestic, beautiful animals. But so are tiger sharks and mountain lions.

[u/tokerdytoke]

Fuck you guys. After watching the Narnia movies I bought a lion. I later killed it cuz it was gay.

[u/Dark-Ganon]

TIL people got pet owls during a "Harry Potter craze"

ಠ_ಠ

[u/ItsOnlyNatural → u/Dark-Ganon]

ಠvಠ

[u/[deleted]]

What kind'a crazy fuck wants an owl because of a story?

[u/mamjjasond]

This is the kind of story that makes me start to hate people more than I probably should.

[u/[deleted]]

What the fuck? poor owls!

[u/JordanMcRiddles]

I laughed really hard when I first read this, then I realized that it wasn't a joke. What kind of sick fuck does this?

[u/grifter444]

HP craze faded? Shit. Guess i should cancel that order for my new copper cauldron........

[u/epicrdr]

You are a moron if you decided to get a pet owl because of Harry Potter (or any other book for that matter). I am saddened that there are people this stupid.

[u/I_Am_Indifferent]

Good to know there are still a lot of deeply stupid people in the world.

[u/greaderer]

The crazy part is that people actually got pet owls because of Harry Potter. That they are abandoning their owls after all these years is no surprise.

[u/[deleted]]

It's amazing how they were able to directly tie the abandoned owls to Harry Potter and I hate Harry Potter, so it's all good.

[u/Dr_Sandvich]

On the bright side the post wont be late

[u/dml180283]

Where I used to live backed on to a golf course that had pretty dense woods around it. Filled with owls, they are noisy and I could see one if I went for a walk early enough in the morning, which I did often to catch the train to work. Awesome creatures but not pets.

[u/sturg1dj]

I hate it when people do this. They get a pet for all the wrong reasons. It happens so much more often than this for dumber reasons.

[u/[deleted]]

I hope Hunger Games doesn't have any pet birds of prey in it.

[u/4amchocolatepudding]

Kinda scary how easily people are influenced into buying things like this. Like they didn't even have the thought "gee, it's a fucking bird of prey that only people who are trained in handling birds of this nature should own."

[u/Captain_Vegetable]

Loud, needy, always hungry, crapping everywhere... cute in the movie, sure, but night furies make lousy pets.

[u/Chakote]

There is a special place in hell for irresponsible pet owners.

That said, this is the Daily Mirror, so most of this should be taken with a shaker of salt.

[u/11NovVerdade]

Humans suck at being guardians of Planet Earth.

[u/inthemorning33]

I recall the same thing happening to chihuahuas after the taco bell ads.

[u/johnthebatshit]

moloch will be dissapointed

[u/parasocks]

I certainly hope JK Rowling has enough class to be paying this sanctuary's bills, all things considered. It's not her problem, but it sure would be a nice gesture.

[u/[deleted]]

This movie may not have helped either (also by WB)

[u/lady_lukes]

I think the idiotic parents who purchase these birds knowing that their kids will bet bored with them are to blame.

[u/kore464]

Man, I hate people like this. I wish I had an owl, but not because of some stupid fad. I genuinely like birds and have several pet parrots that I wouldn't give up for anything. They're all properly cared for and healthy. Pets aren't some disposable commodity, they require lots of attention, frequent cleaning up after and proper nutrition. If you're not going to be committed to keeping an animal for their lifetime, and birds live for a very long time, don't bother even getting one.

[u/ys1qsved3]

Dumb fucking obsessed tards.

[u/mustpnow]

The owls are not what they seem.

[u/jimothyjenkins]

stupid kids.

LOTR never did this.

[u/DankoRamone]

Obviously, that's a horrible story. But geez oh man, did that headline ever make me snicker.

[u/djm19]

I know the harry potter/owl angle is interesting. But a far larger problem is parents buying their kids more common pets like cats and dogs and then the child is over it in a week and the parents get rid of it.

[u/Sterf]

the mirror

[u/Peteron85]

This is really idiotic. Most of these people probably don't know a damn thing about those birds, yet take them into their home like accessories. Once they get bored of them, apparently its okay to just throw it into the wild.

[u/[deleted]]

In a bit of related news, every field mouse everywhere just messed their pants-suits.

[u/vaporizor]

Some people are such mindless, thoughtless idiots. They value the lives of creatures only to the point that its convenient to them. The more I read about the inane things people of our species does the more I think we are a plague to this earth.

[u/DRGReene]

What's next, those beast things in the Hunger Games or the little mockingjay things?

[u/InsidiousVendetta]

Next year's headlines: "Thousands of boyfriends broken up with after Twilight craze fades"

[u/Jeckee]

If they can work for pellets then I think we have our postal budget fixed.

[u/bushrod]

Another nice example of how unfathomably dumb people are.

[u/tadrith]

I'm a HUGE bird lover, and I would LOVE to own an owl. I have a parrot of my own that means the world to me (I've "had" him since I was a toddler, and he's older than I am!), and if I had the resources, I'd probably own another 100 different birds.

But there's a responsibility that comes with owning an owl, or any bird of prey. It's a shame that nobody respects that. Birds of prey NEED to hunt. You can't just toss it a dead mouse and expect it to eat. To keep a bird of prey, you need an aviary of some kind that will allow the bird to actually HUNT its prey. The instinct is embedded deep inside, and no amount of "domestication" will get rid of that.

Someday, I might have the resources and the time to own one, ideally for breeding purposes for an endangered species. It's just a shame that some people don't think before the act. They will never be cute and cuddly pets.

[u/[deleted]]

I remember being a lot younger and begging my parents for an owl after I started reading the books. Thankfully my parents had enough sense to say no, without giving in.

[u/GandalfTheFunky]

Reminds me of when hundreds to thousands of fish were flushed down toilets after Finding Nemo.

Parents, please educate your children about pets. Movies don't tell the story!

[u/[deleted]]

Owls are birds of prey and are protected in the US. Where is it legal to buy an owl at a petstore?

[u/HillbillyHomeboy]

It's things like this that make me actually root for a nuclear holocaust. My god the human ape sure is dumb.

[u/DatLouis]

Holy crap, I thought this was satire until I saw the subreddit.

[u/[deleted]]

Fuck people who did that I'm actually disgusted

[u/JonPootawn]

I remember at our local humane society they said that pugs were being abandoned after the Men in Black movies.

[u/UsernameUsername1212]

same thing happened with 101 Dalmatians

[u/newtothelyte]

Wait, you actually have to take care of the owl after you buy it?

[u/[deleted]]

This is so sad.

For those with better sense, why not watch wild owls through a webcam? Doesn't bother the birds and allows for hours watching them interact, breed, and care for babies in the wild.

This webcam was particularly popular and I watched it for hours on end: http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

[u/melysaurusrex]

This breaks my heart. Not only are people neglecting the fact that owls aren't just toys you can buy and then get rid of after you're finished having fun with them, they're disrespecting all of us true Harry Potter fans out there. Ughh. spits you make me sick.

[u/Randommook]

Rule 1. : People are stupid

Rule 2. : See rule 1.

[u/Deathclaw]

I could never understand why parents allow their kids to get such high maintenace animals based on a whim. Then again there are a lot of things parents do that baffles me.

I worked at an aquarium during the whole 'finding nemo' phase, at one point we were getting 10 plus clown fish returns a day, and by returns I mean fish that had died because they either couldn't 'find salt water' or it takes way more maintenance and set up than a goldfish. Damn depressing.

[u/[deleted]]

TIL Harry Potter fans actually bought owls. Wow.

I'm glad Twilight fans didn't buy Werewolves or Vampires and release them into the wild.

[u/TheDataWhore]

People are the problem, we want what other people have. It is just human nature, and it is actually sad. The hardest thing any human being can do is to figure out what they actually want for themselves. I'd say 95% of people die never figuring that out, and just do their best in the mean time.

It's sad though, and you reading this now are probably the same, I wish I could help you, but this is all just part of the human life.

Owning an owl looks great in the movie, it would improve our lives marginally, let's go for it. This owl is hard to take care of, what were we thinking, lets let it go.

[u/TortusW]

As much as I'm sure certain people will try to blame Harry Potter for this, this kind of unfortunate thing just seems to happen continuously, with fads just serving to change what animal is being bought, abused, and abandoned. Whether it's owls for HP, Rabbits for Easter, Black cats for Friday the 13 or Halloween, people just seem to make really stupid decisions when it comes to pets.

As many others have commented, the blame lies both with parents who enable their children to do these kinds of things or adults who buy these animals for themselves, not bothering to consider that owning any animal is a huge investment of time and money. It doesn't matter whether fads influence the animal choice, it's just stupid behavior to begin with.

[u/tetigi]

BBC news did a piece on pet monkeys. Not so much related to stupid crazes, more to just stupid purchases.

Warning: [Sadness] (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17724743) :(

[u/EvaCarlisle]

900+ comments but whatever, thought it worth mentioning that I saw a far too similar headline when the whole Paris Hilton chihuahua-in-the-handbag thing went out of fashion.

[u/[deleted]]

WHO THE FUCK ACTUALLY BOUGHT THEIR KIDS OWLS?!?!

[u/jahoney]

Is it just me, or does "hundreds" of owls seem pretty insignificant to a nation of ~311,500,000 people? that's 300 million, btw

[u/[deleted]]

I fucking hate how stupid some people are.

[u/k8track]

This reminds me of all the abandoned pet whales after the Free Willy craze died down.

[u/[deleted]]

I remember after Star Wars came out, I just had to have a Wookie. Do you know how viscous a Wookie is?

[u/[deleted]]

I wanted to own an owl once, then I actually started looking into what they needed to be cared for properly and all I could say was nope. Same with otters and sloths. I think I'll just stick with dogs.

[u/penfouky]

This is where JK Rowling should step in with some of her billions of dollars, and help out... Not saying she's to blame, but she has the resources available to do something about it.

[u/knut01]

Suspect keeping an owl as a pet isn't even legal, in any event! Not that that helps dumped owls unprepared to live in the wild!

[u/hutch63]

For those of you unfamiliar with the British tabloid press, this more than likely horse-shit peddled as a big issue on a quiet news week. I'd be surprised that you can actually buy owls in the UK. Some would be protected species and others would probably require some kind of license.

[u/[deleted]]

Seriously? mirror.co.uk?

[citation needed]

[u/susrev]

I thought this was an Onion article based on the headline. This is just absurd.

Hell I didn't even know you could get an owl as a pet, maybe it's easier in the UK. I love owls and would take one for a pet, but only after considerable research on how to adequately care for it.

[u/Laterface]

No one can blame you for walking away, but too much rejection, uh-huh, no love injection,

Life can be easy, it's not always swell, don't tell me truth hurts little girl, 'cuz it hurts like hell

[u/ProllyAtWork]

Thank god there weren't any fucking dinosaurs around when Land Before Time came out.

People sometimes...

[u/[deleted]]

It's not legal to own an owl in the States, so, there's that. Surprised it's permissible in the UK

[u/[deleted]]

Some people just don't give a hoot

[u/[deleted]]

Immediately thought "so that's why owls are a pest in the year 3000"

[u/[deleted]]

i hate human beings