Police are appealing for information after an 11-year-old boy was sprayed with ‘silly string’ and assaulted in Morecambe on Saturday (20th October).
The bizarre incident, picked up by at least one national newspaper, took place between 3 and 4.00pm outside Pound Fever on Euston Road when the boy, who was with a friend, were walking through Morecambe town centre carrying an owl.
The boys were approached by a large group of teenaged boys, aged in their mid-teens who began to spray them both with silly string. The victims ran away but the teenagers then gave chase, punching one of the boys in the face.
“This is an unusual incident which has occurred in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon,” said PC Ben Hanley, ” so I would appeal to anybody that witnessed it or with any information about those responsible to come forward.
“The motive for the offence is unclear at this time but it is possible they were trying to steal the owl.
“The use of the string has clearly caused the owl some distress but fortunately they managed to keep it safe and the boy was not seriously hurt.”
• Anyone with any information should call Lancashire Police on 101 quoting crime reference BB1203964.
Why were these boys walking an owl on Euston Road? That doesn't sound very sensible to me.
It's not illegal to have an owl as a pet in the UK, but they don't make very good ones. In captivity they can be noisy, smelly and dirty and need a lot of time, care and attention. They require a regular, specialist diet, and if you want to keep them properly they need a large, purpose-built aviary which can be expensive to build and maintain.
Harry Potter books author J.K. Rowling has asked fans not to copy their hero.
She says, “If anybody has been influenced by my books to think an owl would be happiest shut in a small cage and kept in a house, I would like to take this opportunity to say as forcefully as I can: You are wrong.
“The owls in Harry Potter books were never intended to portray the true behaviour or preference of real owls. If your owl-mania seeks concrete expression, why not sponsor an owl at a bird sanctuary where you can visit and know that you have secured him or her a happy, healthy life.”
Sounds like good advice to me.