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| Fifth Column |
| Barn Owl Shortage Plagues UK |
| 2006-09-27 |
| Aussie blogger Tim Blair writes: Britain is running out of barn owls. If you have any spare barn owls, please FedEx them to Britain. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #13 Is this for real - are we talking Britain as in ENGLAND, WALES + SCOTLAND, or just ENGLAND or ENGLAND-WALES??? Last time I passed thru Scotland there were owls flying all over the place. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-09-27 22:36 |
| #12 Them wuz respected birds where I came from - as was anything that ate mice, rats, and other "difficult" rodents. Prudent, given the microbes those rodents often carry. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-09-27 19:24 |
| #11 I've eaten a lot of crazy things in my life, but never barn owl. Them wuz respected birds where I came from - as was anything that ate mice, rats, and other "difficult" rodents. I'll have to dig out my 'possum & sweet potato' recipe sometimes... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-09-27 19:03 |
| #10 Who gives a hoot? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-27 18:39 |
| #9 Fabulous recipe, indeed, Fred. As for the problem, England need merely snatch a couple of breeding pairs, let them breed in captivity so that all the fledgelings live to sexual maturity, then release them in the wild. Do this for a decade or so and they'll find themselves with a surplus of the critters. Unless the problem is merely due to a deficit of barns in these suburbanized days, and it becomes a matter of providing suitable nesting sites for the critters as well. Merely providing suitable housing and preventing the ravages of sparrows and starlings has resulted in a dramatic increase in the no longer endangered Eastern American Bluebird. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-09-27 16:40 |
| #8 Dear Mr. Blair: In light of the revelation that Muggle Britain is losing its barn owls, Eylops Owl Emporium, the Magical Menagerie, and the various magical post offices will be releasing young barn owls instead of training them to deliver the post. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic. |
| Posted by: Korora 2006-09-27 15:21 |
| #7 LOL Fred. "If God did not want us to eat animals, He would not have made them out of meat". |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-27 12:40 |
| #6 Whoooo? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-09-27 11:15 |
| #5 They'll never come back, they detest bullshit. |
| Posted by: Threremp Clomosing5130 2006-09-27 10:59 |
| #4 Once again, guns may be the answer. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-09-27 10:03 |
| #3 And in honor of Rantburg Ramadan... |
| Posted by: Fred 2006-09-27 09:17 |
| #2 Time to prorogue parliament. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-27 07:52 |
| #1 Would moonbats be any help? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-09-27 07:29 |