Author J.K. Rowling has warned fans not to imitate Harry Potter by getting an owl for a pet, the Sun reported Wednesday.
The boy wizard's pet, named Hedwig, is credited with soaring demand for owls, which can live as long as 30 years. Rowling said a life spent in a cage would be miserable.
"If anybody has been influenced by my books to think an owl would be happiest shut in a small cage and kept in a house, I would like to take this opportunity to say as forcefully as I can: YOU ARE WRONG," the author told fans online.
"If your owl-mania seeks concrete expression," Rowling said, "why not sponsor an owl at a bird sanctuary where you can visit your owl and know that you have secured him or her a happy, healthy life?"
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
