Harry Potter. Image courtesy of Warner Brothers.
As much as we love Hedwig, should we be buying owls? No. We should not.
We all love Hedwig. She was the center of Harry’s world, which made her important to us. She always seemed to be there for the young wizard, and her death was one of the worst for the fans. So it’s understandable that many kids would want an owl of their own to recreate the magic!
Only, it’s not quite the same in Muggle world. In fact, JK Rowling recently sent out a tweet that is begging people to stop trying to own Owls.
I've just read a very disturbing story about owls kept as pets. Much like making Horcruxes, this practise belongs in fiction. Please don't.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 25, 2017
According to the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, they have a list of why Owls really shouldn’t be at home.
"“Beautiful, majestic, and as awe-inspiring as they may be, in captivity they can be noisy, smelly and dirty and will need a lot of your time, care and attention,” the sanctuary explains in its website. “They require a regular, specialist diet, and, in our opinion, to be kept properly, they need a large, purpose-built aviary, which can be expensive to build and maintain.”"
So, unfortunately, you can’t just feed them small bits of bird food and let them roam around at night. Some things are better in a fiction bedroom than a real one. It doesn’t help that Owls are natural predators.
JK Rowling says that her version of how owls behave was never to be taken as true. She suggests that if you want to “own” an owl, you can sponsor one at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. That way, you can have the majestic animal without the need for the cleaning, and they can fly and live as they’re supposed to!
"“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 take this opportunity to say as forcefully as I can, ‘you are wrong,'” the author said in 2012. “"