American Eagle Owl

Festival Park Owl Sanctuary, (Ebbw Vale)

The sanctuary has been open for 14 years, at the festival park site, which originally hosted the last British Garden Festival in 1992. The sanctuary is home to almost 60 different birds of prey from all over the world, including Falcons, and hawks as well as owls. The number of birds fluctuates as new birds arrive and wild birds which have recovered from their injuries are released. A majority of birds cannot be released into the wild as they are either captive bred or non-native species. Again a majority of birds have been bought as pets, or presents and have not been wanted, or looked-after properly.

The sanctuary is owned by Malcolm Jones, a retired steel worker, who has dedicated his life to caring and Rehabilitating birds of prey.

We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to rescue injured birds of any type. All our injured or wild birds are checked by a specialist bird vet known as Mark Evans in Cardiff.

The Sanctuary is mainly self funded by going out to schools, or fetes as well as public donations. We do school educational visits, where we spend the entire day and give children the opportunity to learn about these magnificent birds, and children will even get the chance to hold an owl. We also attend shows and fetes where we will display a wide variety of owls, hawks and falcons from around the world. The display will be manned by trained volunteers who are willing to explain about the owls and give you the opportunity to hold them as well.

All birds are cared for by the volunteers of the Owl Sanctuary including the owner, Malcolm Jones who has over 47 years of experience.