Dozens of owls 'wrongly' dropped into RSPCA West Hatch (From This is The West Country)

Dozens of owls 'wrongly' dropped into RSPCA West Hatch

7:20pm Saturday 1st September 2012 in News

GOOD Samaritans have ‘rescued’ dozens of baby owls... which didn’t really need the helping hand they were well-meaningly offered.

Some 33 birds were dropped off at the RSPCA West Hatch wildlife centre between January and July – 11 more than the same period last year. Most have been returned to the wild.

Centre manager Peter Venn said: “We’ve seen so many of these cute bundles of fluff this year – it could well be the windy days we’ve been having knocking them off their perch.

“Sometimes they may have been found at the bottom of a tree and mistakenly picked up by people thinking they need help.

“In reality, tawny owls can climb trees, so they may have been able to find their way back to their nest.”

Mr Venn said often baby animals found in the wild are more likely to survive if left where they are.

He said: “In the case of tawny owls, so long as it isn’t injured or in danger the best thing to do with any youngster found on the ground is put it at the bottom of the tree where its nest is.”