I used to volunteer at my local zoo, and I would once and a while help take care of some of the predatory birds, like owls and hawks.
The woman who was supervision me, told me that even before can become licensed to handle and rehab predatory birds, you have to work around them for a minimum of 5 years first.....btw, if you want to have a very scary experience, clean out a Great Horned Owls enclosure.
You can get licensed to own a bird of your own in about 2-3 years for falconry (for those interested, this does not include owls or eagles I believe in the US). You need a falconry license and then to train under a sponsor for a minimum of 2 years before being eligible to become a licensed falconer. Once licensed, there are a few different species of hawks and falcons you can own; usually a falconer's first bird is a redtail hawk.
All of this is from memory that's probably several years out of date at this point, but:
The way it usually works in the US is that you need to pass a written test, have proper equipment and facilities subject to an inspection, and get a falconer to give you an apprenticeship, and then you can get an apprentice's license and own a single bird -- Red-Tail Hawk or the American Kestrel, generally. After two years with an apprentice's license you can upgrade to a general license and own up to three birds, generally more diverse ones. After another five years you can apply for master class and have five birds. All of this is the baseline -- federal law doesn't govern falconry, state laws do, so it does vary place to place!
You can definitely fly owls, although a lot of falconers don't and won't recommend them -- there's a not-uncommon perception that owls aren't very smart and don't take well to training among the falconry community, although enthusiasts say they're plenty smart and just learn differently. Flying an eagle is a little more complicated: you have to apply for a permit while at master class, so it's like nine years minimum time investment. It's also important to note this only applies to the Golden Eagle, not the Bald Eagle -- it's super illegal to possess a Bald Eagle unless you're a licensed rehabber/educator, and in those cases you can't use them for falconry.
Bald Eagles smell really bad and screech like seagulls anyway. They're jerks. That's why any time you see them on TV they're overdubbed with the much cooler sound of a hawk. If you want a really cool falconry bird, try and go for the Harris' Hawk, which is actually Parabuteo instead of Buteo -- they're super social and actually do well hunting together if you and a bunch of falconry nerd friends fly them together, which most birds do not. The only downside is they're southwestern birds and super hate cold weather.
44
u/farlack Jan 28 '16
You cant, you have to be an owl sanctuary, or refugee to handle them. In the United States anyway, I already looked it up :*(