Guest guest Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 New Sanctuary for Owls Dumped by Muggles Thursday August 27, 2009 A snowy owl at a Harry Potter DVD launch party in 2004.Scott Barbour / Getty Images. It happens every time there's a popular movie featuring a companion animal: people run out and buy that animal. And it's now happening to owls because of the popularity of Harry Potter. The problem in the U.K. has reached the point where an owl sanctuary has opened. Don Walser has opened the Newport Owl and Monkey Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight, and currently has about 20 owls. Walser explains, "Children read the books and see the films and say to their mums and dads they want one and parents don't realise how much care it takes to look after them." Sound familiar? It should. In 1997, shelters reported a 300% increase in the number of unwanted dalmatians in the aftermath of - you guessed it - the Disney movie, "101 Dalmatians," which is ironically a movie about saving the dogs. Sales of pet rats increased when the movie "Ratatouille" was released. While some ended up at shelters, others were almost certainly abandoned in the wild because some shelters do not accept rats. The film "Finding Nemo" resulted in a double whammy. Not only did sales of clownfish soar, but well-intentioned children were flushing their own pet fish down the toilet. In the movie, fish flushed down the toilet end up in the ocean, alive and free. The fact that the movie was about a captured fish in an aquarium who wants to be free was apparently lost on the families who rushed out to buy clownfish to put them in tanks in their living rooms. We're not going to see fewer animals in animated movies. They are too compelling and endearing as characters. What we need is for adults to change their attitudes about pets being disposable. Children learn from their parents whether pets should be acquired impulsively and whether an unwanted animal who has lost his charm after a month should be dumped at a shelter. The parents should also understand that they will be primarily responsible for the animal, instead of getting rid of him when Junior repeatedly forgets to feed him. If you decide you're able to provide a forever home for an animal, check your local shelter or Petfinder. http://animalrights.about.com/b/2009/08/27/new-sanctuary-for-owls-dumped-by-muggles.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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