Everyone loves the Harry Potter series. The books and movies have brought us hours of entertainment and left many of us wishing we had magic powers of our own. But even the best things sometimes come with terrible consequences. For example, in Indonesia, the series seems to have spawned a pet owl craze that is putting some species in danger of a permanent disappearing act.
Unfortunately, birds have always been popular pets in Indonesia. Songbirds in particular are caught in the thousands every year and stuffed in small crates where they await buyers who use them as living decoration on their property. But owls have, until now, been able to escape the birdcatcher's attention. However, a recent survey revealed that they too are in high demand. Some species - like the Scops owl - are being sold at the rate of 12,000 per year. Most of them are caught in the wild.
It is ironic that people’s love of owls in Indonesia may lead to their extinction. Yet, we have seen it time and time again; an animal becomes the latest fad, and its population plummets.
J.K. Rowling, the amazing and talented author of the Harry Potter series is an avid Twitter user and has used the platform to call out everything from sexism and homophobia to bullies and politicians. Let’s ask her to use it one more time to tell her Indonesian fans that pet owls aren’t cool. Sign the petition and ask the great J.K Rowling to help end the owl trade in Indonesia.
