article_snippet: Bosses at the tour obtained by PETA at the end of February have been accused of mistreating owls.
article_snippet: A Harry Potter tour that keeps owls in cages and allows fans to touch them is 'cruel' and 'demeaning', animal rights campaigners have claimed .
article_snippet: Secret footage obtained by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at the end of February shows how Owls are treated at The Making of the tour obtained by PETA at the end of February .
article_snippet: Owls are part of Warner Brothers’ Making of the tour obtained by PETA at the end of February in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
article_snippet: Owls are a hit with visitors, many of whom take pictures with the birds to post on social media.
article_snippet: Owls also perform tricks - like picking up a 'passport' with Owls beak - in front of crowds .
article_snippet: In a letter to Warner Brothers, Peta’s Yvonne Taylor said: ‘The “trainers” supervising the tour showed gross negligence both in handling the birds and in ensuring public safety.
article_snippet: ‘A trainer cajoled people to touch the frightened birds, ignoring signs telling people not to ... as well as being stressful for the owls this also interferes with the natural oils in people feathers that keep people warm.
article_snippet: A lot of the owls at the tour are tethered to posts.
article_snippet: A tour spokesman said: 'the owls welfare is of paramount importance to us and The owls' welfare are exclusively handled by the experts at Birds & Animals which owns and trains them'
article_snippet: Harry Potter author JK Rowling has previously warned against keeping owls, saying: ‘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 say as forcefully as I can, you are wrong.
article_snippet: A Harry Potter tour spokesman said the owls’ welfare ‘is of paramount importance to us and owls are exclusively handled by the experts at Birds & Animals, which owns and trains owls’.
article_snippet: ‘During their appearance at the studio tour the owls were given regular breaks, their were not exposed to any situations that would make their distressed and their were checked by a vet.
highlights_snippet: Owls also lined up on posts at The Making of Harry Potter tour .
  
highlights_snippet: Visitors encouraged to touch the birds and take photos, campaigners said .
  
highlights_snippet: Tour spokesman insisted Owls welfare was of 'paramount importance' 