Can Owls Be Kept As Pets?

Many people think that it would be fun to keep an owl as a pet, however very few people actually know what would be involved in caring properly for one. First and foremost, in most countries it is illegal to keep an owl as a pet without obtaining a special permit. Some countries issue permits to individuals to keep owls after necessary training and after proper facilities have been built. However the United States does not allow private individuals to keep native owls as pets.

These creatures may only be possessed by trained, licensed, individuals while being rehabilitated, as foster parents in a rehabilitation facility, as part of a breeding program, for educational purposes, or in some cases some states may allow certain species to be used for falconry. In any case, even in these instances the person licensed to keep the owl does not “own” the bird. Rather, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service retains “stewardship” of the owls so that they may recall them at any time if the proper conditions are not being met.

Besides owls being illegal to own as pets in most countries, there are a few other reasons it is a bad idea to keep them as pets. One such reason is they can be very destructive as they have a natural instinct to hunt and/or kill. When being treated as domesticated animals, they have been known to destroy things such as blankets, pillows, clothing, stuffed animals, etc. and have been known to shred things and use their talons to destroy woodwork and strip off the finish on it.

Another down side to keeping owls as a pet is the fact that they are nocturnal animals. This means that they are most active at night, thus keeping the household awake while making a lot of racket. This especially worsens during mating season. Owls make quite a racket hooting and calling out to other birds during mating season and can also become irritable.

Owls do not enjoy being pet or cuddled. Even when captivated, they still retain their natural instincts and often will become aggressive and/or may even try to bite. If an owl doesn’t like something that you are doing it is going to let you know by biting, using its talons to scratch, and/or just being downright mean. They also require daily feeding, cleaning and attention and owls that are able to fly need to be able to fly regularly. Great horned owls have been known to live up to the age of thirty. Smaller species can live up to the age of ten. Taking care of an owl is a long term commitment and a lot of work.

Something else to keep in mind is that veterinarians do not usually have the necessary training to properly care for owls, so should you need to make a vet visit for something, this could turn into a major problem especially if your owl is ill. Besides getting sick, owls are very messy creatures to keep as pets. They have been known to molt several thousands of feathers a year and throw up pellets of bones and fur of the animals they eat wherever they happen to be at the time. So if cleaning up owl poop, feathers, and regurgitated remains of smaller mammals is something that sounds like fun, an owl might be something you’re interested in, but in most cases its not something many would like to try and pursue.

If you are not prepared to thaw and cut up dead animals every day to feed to your owl and then go on a scavenger hunt for the remains later (owls like to hide the remaining leftovers for meals later) than keeping an owl as a pet is probably not for you. Owls cannot simply live off of bird feed such as other birds. Feeding them a proper diet can be gross and become quite expensive and tiresome over time. Since owls are carnivores that naturally hunt their prey at night, they require a diet of whole animals such as rodents, rabbits, frogs, smaller birds, etc.

Owls are quick, agile and can be extremely dangerous especially around children and smaller pets such as cats or dogs. There have even been instances where well trained bird trainers have even lost eyes to an owl’s powerful talons. Just imagine what would happen to your average person trying to tame and keep an owl as a pet.

Perhaps one of the nastiest and most difficult things about keeping an owl as a pet is its bowel habits. Obviously, it poops (a lot). However besides pooping a lot it also must empty out its ceca at the end of its intestines about once a day. This discharge has the consistency of chocolate pudding and smells absolutely horrid. It is messy to clean up and it stains horribly.

If you like to travel occasionally, owls are not a good thing to have around. Its not like you can just take an owl along if you need to go on an airplane or just hire your average teenager to owl sit for a weekend. Owls are high maintenance creatures that require special care, dieting, etc. and usually in order to take an owl to another state, country etc. you even have to have a permit every time you cross state lines. Owls like routine, so anything that disrupts this can be seen as a threat to the owl causing it to behave more aggressively. Not only can this be dangerous for whoever you have managed to talk into caring for the owl while you are gone, but it is also bad for the owl’s health as it causes unnecessary stress on the creature.

So now that you fear you will never vacation again, will never eat chocolate pudding ever again, and have scared all the children, pets and animal sitters out of the neighborhood, maybe you should opt for a goldfish instead.