Wizards for the Ethical Treatment of Owls

04/05/2017

One of the reasons Raptor Aid was created wasn’t just for wild bird of prey conservation but also for the good of birds of prey in captivity globally. It would be a little bit rich of us thou…

30/08/2016

The birds in this video are either over heated, scared or both and are being incorrectly handled in an unsuitable environment.

30/08/2016

For most, the new school year is soon to start. But for us it has just ended.
Yesterday was our last event for this year as we will be taking some time off (all 3 of us) to await the arrival of a new little wizard and the newest member of The Flying Squadron, who is due at the end of October and fingers crossed we will be back at Hogwarts in 2017.
Better get some rest before all hell breaks loose.

21/03/2016

Toki is a Great Horned Owl, we can see why in this photo.

02/01/2016

A very silly video but actually contains real and interesting facts about owls.

Post to FB :: http://on.fb.me/138Vd4d Tweet Link :: http://bit.ly/138WDvD music : http://www.soundcloud.com/querflote Eagle Owl: chicks and adult bird - Uhu:...

20/11/2015

Frankie enjoying a bit of shade earlier this summer. We Always make sure our birds have access to water when teathered at shows, even if they don't need it.

19/11/2015

Me and Frankie attending Thought Bubble in Leeds this weekend

19/11/2015

and reminds everyone that owls are for life and not at all for christmas.

08/11/2015

Our interview from York Comic-con, spreading the word for WETO.

Arcade Gr***de visit York's first ever comic-con to see what it has in store. Please considering giving our video a like and Subscribe! Arcade Gr***de! The h...

24/10/2015

This is one very happy owlett. Happy Halloween everyone.
http://www.viralthread.com/adorable-baby-owl-dances-with-fake-owl-to-monster-mash/

This little owl is truly a 'graveyard smash'.

16/09/2015

This page may mainly apply to those in America but many of the points apply to everyone.
http://www.internationalowlcenter.org/owls-humans/owlsaspets?gclid=CIqahJuj-8cCFU-6Gwodu3YCFg

The International Owl Center teaches about the diversity of owls in the world, the challenges they face, and how to live in more owl-friendly ways. It also conducts some original research and hosts live web cams.

24/08/2015

Teathering.
many people belive that owls should never be teathered, however sometime it is necessary. During a display situation, teathering is the safest way of keeping an owl, sometimes an owl needs to be teathered while thier aviary is being cleaned out or for health reasons so it is always a good idea to train your owl to be comfortable being teathered. They should always be teathered on a suitable and safe perch which has been made and desighned for use with birds of prey.
The strongest part of an owls body is it's legs and much like when we put a collar on a dog, as a dogs head an neck is it's strongest asset, we attach the jesses to the legs of the bird. Teathering raptors acts in a similar way to teathering a horse. The bird must not be teathered too short as to be restricted but too long and the bird could be at risk of injuring itself or getting entangled and when being handled by the falconer the bird will sit on the glove and the falconer will hold onto the jesses, not to permanantly restrain the bird, but to ensure it's safety in an emergency.
If an owl is spooked by something, their natural reaction is to fly away from whatever it is they are scared of, unfortunatly, like a dog scared of fireworks, if they do fly away in this manner, they could end up anywhere and they will be unlikely to have any concept of danger in the form of roads, dogs and even other people. they would also be a threat from small pets such as guineapigs and in the case of some large owls, are capable of taking medium sized dogs.
Owls that are kept teathered regularly should be regularly flown free and should only ever be flown in a controlled and safe environment for the safety of both the owl and other animals.