Forest To Table- Is It Illegal To Eat Owl In New York?

Can you legally order owl to eat at a restaurant in New York State? Hoo would even want to?

Is Eating Owls A Real Thing?

Seriously though, do people truly eat them? Across Japan, Owl cafés are experiencing a boom in popularity.

In Harajuku, one of Tokyo’s many entertainment districts, there are over five separate owl cafés operating. The owl is a particularly significant animal in Japanese culture as it is commonly considered to be a symbol of good luck."

Even though they have an owl cafe, you can’t order one to eat. You are stopping in to enjoy the owl....not to enjoy eating said owl.

If you make the trip to China, it looks like the Chinese do eat owls. In Guangdong, after preparation, an owl can be worth about 1,800 yuan. So, people do eat them.

Can You Order An Owl In New York?

In the United States, it is illegal to even be in the possession of an owl feather. That means simply that eating an owl is considered illegal:

It doesn’t matter if you found it dead. You will still receive a citation and fine should a wildlife official find you in possession of an owl or feather."

Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to keep an owl as a pet. Penalties include a fine of up to $15,000 and/or up-to six months in prison. So that would be one expensive meal.

Also, let's be honest for a moment. Most owls aren’t that big, which means, they don’t have much meat on them. Owls are primarily nocturnal, and that alone would make  them much harder to hunt and kill.

So NO, you can't eat an owl legally in New York.