What Species of Owl Can You Legally Own in the United States?
Whenever the topic of keeping owls as pets comes up, one of the first things that objectors point out is that they are not legal to own in the United States. But is this really true?
We have seen numerous videos lately of people with pet owls in Japan. Indeed, owls are a popular exotic pet to purchase there, and many YouTube channels exist where you can watch their day-to-day lives (such as GEN3 OWL CHANNEL) among other things. There are even numerous books dedicated to educating prospective owners on how to care for them, and public cafes where visitors can interact with owls of virtually every species. This is something you would simply never see in the United States; our culture is different, and we tend to abhor exotic pet ownership.
There are many books available in Japan about keeping owls as pets.
One of the main reasons for this is that the majority of owls (and all birds of prey native to North America, for that matter) are illegal to own in the United States. This is due to the existence of a law known as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which is lovingly called “America’s most important bird protection law” by the Audobon Society, despite the fact this law has prevented captive breeding efforts for any and all of our declining songbird populations, even as many sit on the edge of extinction. You cannot even own a single feather from any of these protected species due to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
A few examples of what owl species are illegal in the United States would be:
Barn owls (Tyto alba)
Snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus)
Great horned owls (Bubo virginianus)
Eastern & Western screech owls (Megascops asio)
Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia)
As an example. A full list can be found on the United States Fish & Wildlife Services website here. There are hundreds of bird species on the list.
This law limits aspiring owl owners to only a few non-native, foreign species, of which only one is commonly available to the private sector: the Eurasian eagle owl. Unfortunately, all eagle owls are among the largest and heaviest species of owls on the planet, and are equipped with powerful feet and talons capable of crushing bones and puncturing through muscle effortlessly if they opt to “foot” you (a term falconers use to describe birds of prey gripping and impaling its’ talons into you) and therefore are not a viable pet choice for the majority of people, unlike the smaller and mostly harmless species.
The formidable talons of a large owl can be incredibly dangerous.
© Chris Gladis via Flickr
Eurasian eagle owls also carry a hefty price tag with them, ranging from upwards of $5000 for a owlet. While this is not particularly shocking given that rarer parrot species can cost $10,000, it is still enough to ward off people from purchasing them— they are expensive, hard to find, potentially dangerous, and demanding birds that require prior experience and knowledge in handling raptors to own.
Until the species of non-native owls better suited to be kept as pets (such as the white-faced scops owl, and little owl) become available in the United States, passionate owl fans here will have to consider pursuing a falconry license to be able to work with any species small enough to be reasonably handled by a novice raptor handler.
