NINE Barn Owls (Tyto alba) have been released to the wild near Detva in central Slovakia. Beatrice Hudáková, the spokesperson for the Environment Ministry, told the SITA newswire that these owls were bred in captivity and set free as part of the ministry’s programme for restitution of Barn Owls in the natural environment.
This is a joint project between the ministry, the Bojnice Zoo, the Slovak State Nature Protection agency and a bird protection association – Ochrana dravcov na Slovensku (Raptor Protection in Slovakia). The goal is to strengthen the wild owl population in localities where this species can live naturally. The effort has been ongoing since 2004 and it had released 69 owls bred in captivity to the wild by the end of 2010.
