Outcry over the Harry Potter owls caged and blinded by f lashbulbs
BOSSES at the Harry Potter studio tour have been accused of mistreating owls.
Animal rights campaigners said camera flashes were extremely distressing for the birds, which have highly sensitive eyes.
They are also kept in small cages for long periods and forced to perform ‘demeaning’ tricks, a report added.
Undercover footage shows birds chewing at their tethers and shaking their heads, apparently in alarm.
The owls are part of Warner Brothers’ Making of Harry Potter tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
in the books and films, Harry Potter has a pet snowy owl called Hedwig that was given to him as a birthday gift by gamekeeper Hagrid. Among its tasks was to fly into Hogwarts School to deliver Harry’s letters.
At the studio tour, which costs £33 for an adult ticket, fans can meet ‘Hedwig’ as well as other animals from the franchise. The owls are a hit with visitors, many of whom take pictures with the birds to post on social media.
But People for the ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said flashes from cameras terrified the owls, while trainers encouraging people to stroke the birds left them agitated.
The charity launched an undercover investigation after receiving complaints from concerned visitors to the attraction.
it has called for the tour to stop using live animals. in a letter to Warner Brothers, Peta’s Yvonne Taylor said: ‘The “trainers” supervising the tour showed gross negligence both in handling the birds and in ensuring public safety. As well as the tricks, they actively encouraged flash photography.
‘Owls have especially acute vision and find blinding camera flashes extremely distressing – this can be seen in Peta’s footage as they respond by desperately chewing at their tethers and shaking their heads.
‘A trainer cajoled people to touch the frightened birds, ignoring signs telling people not to ... as well as being stressful for the owls this also interferes with the natural oils in their feathers that keep them warm.’
Harry Potter author JK rowling has previously warned against keeping owls, saying: ‘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 say as forcefully as i can, you are wrong.’
A Harry Potter tour spokesman said the owls’ welfare ‘is of paramount importance to us and they are exclusively handled by the experts at Birds & Animals, which owns and trains them’.
A spokesman for Birds & Animals, which provides animals for the entertainment industry, added: ‘During their appearance at the studio tour the owls were given regular breaks, they were not exposed to any situations that would make them distressed and they were checked by a vet.’