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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ColinD" data-source="post: 1435248" data-attributes="member: 55409">If the Eagle Owls were proven to be of "wild" origin, then that clearly would put the whole thing into a different light. However, it is widly accepted by most birders and conservation bodies that they are almost certainly escaped / released birds. For example, the RSPB say the following:"The origin of these individuals is unknown, though there is no evidence that birds other than from released stock have bred in Britain in recent times.As a probable introduced species, we believe the government should assess the likely impacts of an increasing population of eagle owls, including on the conservation status of native wildlife."and they go on to say:.......It would be very unfortunate to discover in 20 years’ time that they were devastating native birds and, by then, it would be very difficult to do anything about it.You can read the full article on the RSPB website <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/species/eagleowls.asp" target="_blank">here</a>. With the English Hen Harrier population now confined to one small area in Lancashire, and in single figures, we cannot sit back and allow an escaped top predator threaten what's left of the harrier population. I completely agree that Human persecution is the main cause of the Harriers decline, but I fail to see why that means we should allow an escaped predator to breed in Britain. Eagle Owls are sexy, exciting birds to see and to have on your British life list, but that's not a good reason for allowing them to breed in the wild. In almost every other case throughout the World, introduced species have decimated native wildlife, or at best have become serious pests. Why wait for it to happen with these owls, on the one in a million chance that one of them might be a wild bird?</blockquote>

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