Our littlest owl has no status? How very dare they!

[KentYeti]

This little love is protected Deb. And so it should be IMHO.

Protected by some very caring people. One of the many Owls being cared for at the The Barn Owl Centre near Gloucester.

It can't care for itself following being hit by a car. But it has most of it's abities intact and was good enough to pose for a few of us at a recent photo day. And is clearly being very well looked after by Vince and his team at the Centre. As are all their charges. Lovely location, lovely people and lovely birds.

Bryan

[Deb London]

Wow, ha, ha what an expression.
Thanks for that Bryan.

[Deb London]

Originally Posted by RoyW

Not quite "no protection", they still have the protection that is given to all birds in the UK particularly during the breeding season (other than a few named exceptions), and they will still be catered for on reserves and other areas with the provision of nest boxes etc.

The point is that they are not given a conservation status because they are not considered to be species that it is important to conserve. There may not be any effort made to eradicate them (unlike some other alien species), but their presence is also not actively encouraged (so if they do fall in numbers there is unlikely to be any effort made to help the numbers recover - unless they respond to measures put in place to help other species). Golden, and Lady Amherst's Pheasants are two examples that spring to mind. Numbers of both have fallen, and Lady Amherst's Pheasants now have a sub-category of their own on the British list (C6 - "Former naturalised species whose populations are considered to be no longer self sustaining, or extinct).

If the American Mink, Signal Crayfish, Harlequin Ladybirds, Canada Geese, Japanese Knotweed, or other introduced species fell to a level which meant they could become extinct in the UK would you consider this to be a problem?
Whether or not a species is 'liked' should have no effect on the conservation status, but whether it is a species that naturally belongs here is an important consideration.

Thanks all for putting me right about the protection they have.

In answer to Roy. That depends on the damage it does to our native flora/fauna etc. Simple as that really. I know there is a need to reduce the numbers of some species, and I'd love to see mink and Signal Crayfish eradicated. But if species "slot nicely" into the ecosystems, give them a break.

I'm not sentimental and concerned with cuteness (although, goddammit, look at that face). But the way I see it, if the owls started to die out, no one would fight their cause. They have been here for decades, it would be a crying shame to lose them. I will stand my ground on this point. Even if it is unlikely they will be lost, I would be happier if they had a status.