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A woman who kept a barn owl in a cramped parrot cage has been taken to court by the RSPCA and convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. Named Shirlina, the wild bird had no water, a poor diet and was exposed to cigarette smoke inside Christine Maher's home, the animal welfare charity said. The cage was also positioned next to a television. Maher, 54, of Longdale Drive in Hyde , Tameside , admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the bird by failing to provide her with a suitable diet, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Under the same Act, she also admitted not taking reasonable steps to provide a suitable environment for Shirlina. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE At Manchester and Salford magistrates' court, Maher was been banned from keeping animals as pets, other than cats and dogs, for 10 years. She was also fined £120 and ordered to pay £200 in costs. The RSPCA said the barn owl was underweight and had overgrown talons. There was no access to natural light or adequate room to spread her wings, and Shirlina 'had to endure the unwanted attention of other pets', the charity added. RSPCA Inspector Demi Hodby said in a statement to the court he visited Maher's previous address of Bunkers Hill Road, Hyde, with a vet in October 2022. She said in the statement: "As I walked into the living room area I observed a barn owl inside a parrot cage next to the TV. The TV was switched on and playing loudly. "The barn owl was ringed and had overgrown nails. Its body was very withdrawn and sucked into itself and it had positioned itself into the corner of the cage. "There was no water in the cage. The cage was small and the owl was not able to spread its wings or fly, but it could move around by hopping from perch to perch." The RSPCA said Maher claimed she let the owl out of the cage once or twice a day to fly around the living room. Shirlina was later signed over into RSPCA care. After the hearing, an RSPCA spokesperson said: "Beautiful, wild birds like the barn owl should never be kept in cages like this. In the wild, owls have the freedom of their own territory to fly where they need to, roost comfortably and find food and water. "This just was not the case here for poor Shirlina. She was left to suffer in this cramped parrot cage with no water and inadequate food and bothered by smoke, TV noise and other pets. "It just is not acceptable in this day and age to keep a beautiful wild bird like her in this kind of unsuitable environment. Thankfully we were able to rescue her."
