Owl as a pet: Is it allowed & what is important?
The owl - an extraordinary pet
It's no secret that many people always strive for the extraordinary. The same goes for your pets. Without a doubt, owls are extremely graceful animals. It is probably the large, round eyes and the thick feathers that fascinate some people so much about owls. But there are a few things you need to consider, especially when it comes to wildlife.
What do you have to consider?
- Owls are birds of prey that require a special environment and primarily prey on live food animals. Only in this form can owls express their innate hunting instinct.
- Almost all owls are nocturnal birds. Therefore, they need their rest during the day in order to be able to hunt at night. If you are not a nocturnal person yourself, living with an owl as a pet could be rather difficult.
- As already mentioned, in order to keep protected owls as pets, a special permit from the veterinary office is required.
- As a rule, the permit to keep owls is usually reserved for animal parks or zoos, because a veterinarian must also be appropriately trained for raptors (hunters).
- If you want to keep an owl as a pet, you should ensure that it is kept in a species-appropriate manner in the form of a large aviary. You will probably hardly be able to do justice to this project in your apartment. The size of the aviary is determined by law. For example, if you are enthusiastic about a snowy owl, you need a floor area of 18 square meters with a minimum height of two meters.
- Taming an owl is also an evolutionary challenge that you are unlikely to be able to overcome without experience or outside help. If you don't have any experience with this, you can even be seriously injured by your owl's claws and beak.
Every winter the birds have a hard time finding food in nature. Inexpensive and easy…
Which regulations apply?
Since an owl is definitely a bird of prey, owners need a falconer's hunting license because you have to let an owl fly freely. Owls are protected species and are therefore not freely available in pet stores. Only breeders sell owls. But they also need permission from the veterinary office to keep these animals with them.
An owl costs approx. 350 euros - but there are no upper limits.
What do owls usually eat?
Owls are hunters and carnivores. Their main foods include the following:
- frogs
- Toads
- Beetle
- worms
- Mice
- Rats
- rarely smaller owls
Permission to keep an owl as a pet
In Germany, keeping owls is only possible in rare cases and is strictly regulated. All owl species found in Germany are protected. They may not be captured, sold or kept. Only in rare cases are there exceptions, with official requirements. The keeping is precisely regulated by the species protection regulations and the minimum requirements for the keeping of birds of prey and owls (dated January 10, 1995) of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
As a result, a permit to keep owls is required as a specially protected species under the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Endangered Species. For this purpose, personal and factual requirements are checked, e.g. b. Knowledge of husbandry and care.
Birds that specialize in nocturnal hunting differ from other birds in specific anatomical features. They are difficult to tame and for this reason alone they are not harmless cuddly toys that you can do anything with. If you want to keep an owl as a pet, you should definitely know this. Properly “training” an owl is very time-consuming. To do this, you need specific previous experience with these wild birds. Usually only animal keepers in zoos or animal parks have this.
