The Barn Owl Centre - Laws: Captive

LAWS RELATING TO CAPTIVE BRED BARN OWLS

	Article 10 Certificate
A keeper offering for sale, reward or commercially displaying a captive bred Barn Owl must have in his or her possession an Article 10 Certificate issued by DEFRA. The bird must also wear either a closed leg ring or be fitted with a microchip implant.

	Releasing Captive Bred Barn Owls
The releasing of captive bred Barn Owls into the wild is an illegal offence. All captive release licenses have now been terminated. Information regarding this can be obtained from (DEFRA) The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (See below for contact details)

This next section might be a little confusing, we advise you to read this carefully.

The law in the section headed "Article 10 Certificate" does not apply for captive bred Barn Owls when they are not used for sale, reward or commercial display.
Whilst it is usually assumed that Barn Owls in captivity are held legally & bred in captivity, it must be remembered that a keeper can be called upon at any time to prove the birds origin & that it wasn't taken from the wild. (It is always a good practice to get birds registered)

For birds that are not covered by an article 10 certificate & displayed to the public or used commercially for any reason we strongly advice you get the bird registered with DEFRA.
For closed leg rings & microchipping, contact (IBR) The Independent Bird Register.

In any dispute this will help to prove that the birds origin is that of captive bred & not wild. This is the responsibility of good Owl Keeper. (Further details of the above organisations can be found below)

Laws, Legalisation & Article 10's