this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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Superbowl

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For owls that are superb.

Also visit our twinned community for wholesome content: !wholesome@reddthat.com

US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now

International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com

Australia Rescue Help: WIRES

Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org

If you find an injured owl:

Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.

Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.

Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.

If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.

For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.

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[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (3 children)

In case anyone is wondering, they are not AI photos, which some people often think. Tanja has had a number of owls over the years, and this is the one I see the most.

~~In Denmark, people can aquire non-native owl species, so these owls are all human imprints, hence why they are doing non-owl things.~~

She's a photographer an author, so if you want to see or read more about her owls, there is plenty out there.

Edit: She's German, not Dutch. My mistake! Still, much work and permitting is involved.

Strict requirements apply to the keeping of owls

In Germany, keeping owls is generally allowed, but a special permit from the veterinary office is required, as all owls found here are under species protection.

As a rule, a holding permit is usually Animal parks or zoos which have trained staff. Because an animal keeper must also be trained accordingly for raptors (hunters).

And even if you want to keep the owl outdoors and let it fly regularly, you need a falconer's hunting license so as not to violate applicable rules.

If you feed an owl with live animals, you need an exemption from the veterinary office in order not to violate the Animal Body Disposal Act if you want to dispose of dead day-old chicks.

(Source) Translated with whatever Edge uses as a default

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Just a small correction: I don't know about Danish vs German owl law differences, but Tanja seems to be German, as evidenced by the .de suffix and her page being in German 😁

[–] davepleasebehave@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Bird Law isn't governed by reason..

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 19 hours ago

Fair point 😄

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (2 children)

Dang it. My morning brain took the .de as Dutch, which would still be wrong for a couple reasons. I'm bad with remembering TLDs. Thanks for the correction!

Updated my comment with some more specific info for Germany.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

..still a bit morning brained? Dutch people are from the Netherlands, not Denmark 😄

We're called Danes here, or "Danish people" if you're not into the whole brevity thing 😁

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, it is quite the embarrassing pile of mistakes. 😔

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 19 hours ago

No worries, I've done much worse before my morning coffee myself 😁

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

No worries! I'm loving the community you've built here and all the owlvocacy, so thank YOU 🫶

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago

You all are always so kind!

[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

If you feed an owl with live animals, you need an exemption from the veterinary office in order not to violate the Animal Body Disposal Act if you want to dispose of dead day-old chicks.

Interesting. When my vet answered quite candidly that they'll often simply wrap up a body really well in garbage bags, I wondered if everywhere is so casual about dead animal disposal.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I live down the road from a pet crematorium. I never knew it was there before my dog passed and the vet told me about it. It's tucked away in an industrial park. Coincidentally, they also do periodic collection for our clinic to dispose of the wild animals that didn't make it.

Btw, I'm surprised to see you read the posts. I was thinking you either had something against me or owls in general.

[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

What? I love the community. The pictures here are amazing. I just (I know, I'm an asshole) downvote every lemmy.world post so smaller instances get more visibility.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

Lol well at least that settles that mystery! I had been wondering for a while now what the deal was. I didn't ever recall you commenting, so I didn't know if you just didn't like owls, were mad at me for something, or didn't like how I post in blocks or something. Other than confusing me, it was harmless, so I just let it go, but then it surprised me when you did comment.

As long as you're actually having a good time here, that's all that matters.

So who's your Owl of the Year pick?

[–] thebeardedpotato@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Wow thank you for sharing. Her work is amazing.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

Of course! The owl with the mushroom umbrella is the first of hers that I remember, but I thought it was some type of composite image or something along those lines. These with the dog were where I found out it was real, just with a captive owl.

I'm not the hugest fan of birds as pets, but she is following the rules of where she lives and it sounds like they try to ensure good care, and she has blog posts about losing Gandalf, her White Faced Owl after some serious medical expense, so she seems to be treating them the best she can.

I like that photos like this can help encourage people to learn more about owls, and I try to not influence anyone's feelings about the matter, but I can share the info I do know and you can form your own opinions about how you feel about it. I would rather see them free and wild, but as long as it isn't a free-for-all on letting anyone have an owl, there is much worse stuff going on in the world for owls as a whole.