The owl, after being ‘locked up’ at the police station for three hours, was sent to a local wild animal protection agency, which released the owl at a nearby hill. (image: Cheongju Sangdang Police Station)
CHEONGJU, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — An eagle owl that has been poaching chickens has been ‘apprehended’ by the police.
On February 15 at 10:40 a.m., a 70-centimeter tall eagle owl flew into a poultry farm in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province to feed on chickens.
It wasn’t the owl’s first ‘offense’. According to the owner of the poultry farm, the owl killed as many as 11 chickens last month.
Kim, the owner of the farm, caught the eagle owl by approaching it from the back, and turned it over to the police. The owl, if it was a person, would have been accused of causing property damage.
The owl, after being ‘locked up’ at the police station for three hours, was sent to a local wild animal protection agency, which released the owl at a nearby hill.
So ended the story of the ‘serial chicken killer’, but the poultry farm owner is still concerned that the owl may return.
“There are no legal grounds for us to keep the owl that has been feeding on the chickens locked up,” said the police. “There is nothing we can do if it returns to kill the chickens.”
Eagle owls were designated by the South Korean government as natural monument in 1982.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
