Posted : May 30, 2012
RSPCA on case after baby owls found in boot of car
The RSPCA is investigating after two tawny owlets were found in the boot of a car during a routine police check. It is thought the baby owls are just a month old and were taken from the wild in Chew Valley Lake near Bristol.
The RSPCA is investigating after two tawny owlets were found in the boot of a car during a routine police check. The baby birds were handed over to the charity by police and are now being cared for at the West Hatch Wildlife Centre in Taunton.
It is thought the baby owls are just a month old and were taken from the wild in Chew Valley Lake near Bristol – although it is not known where they were being taken or why.
Both owls are in good health but, having been separated from their parents at such a young age, they need to be looked after until they are old enough to fend for themselves – at which point they will be released back into the wild.
Peter Venn, manager at West Hatch Wildlife Centre, said: "We have no idea what these owls were doing in the boot of the car but it is a shame they were taken away from their natural environment.
"It can be hard to successfully raise young animals like this away from their parents, and we always advise that people leave baby animals where they are where possible."
According to the charity, many of the baby animals brought to it for care every year would have a better chance of survival if left where they were.
In the case of West Hatch's newest residents, as long as they were not hurt or in danger, the best thing to do would have been to put them at the bottom of the tree where their nest was. Unknown to most people, these little birds can actually climb trees by themselves.
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