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

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