Victory! Devon Town Cancels Owl Display After Letter From PETA
A display of live owls at a town fair in Kingsbridge, Devon, has been cancelled after PETA urged the organisers to reconsider. In a letter to the reverend of St Edmund’s church, where the event was scheduled to be held, PETA highlighted the cruelty of allowing visitors to “get close to” birds of prey.
Owls are solitary predators, so keeping them tethered and surrounded by other birds of prey goes completely against their nature. Their highly acute hearing and vision make being transported and displayed in front of noisy crowds a tremendously frightening experience for them.
What’s more, owls are unsuited to human company and would likely find close encounters with children extremely distressing. There would also be a risk of damage to their delicate feathers if they were touched. And while owl attacks on humans are rare, they can and do occur in captivity.
The best way to admire owls and other birds is by viewing them in their natural habitat in the wild, not at a fair or other events which treat them as objects of amusement, rather than as intelligent, sensitive animals.
PETA is sending a box of owl-shaped vegan chocolates to the reverend to thank her for her compassion.
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