Tick to Confirm You Have Read & Understood Each Section * What you need to know! Safety when handling any animal is paramount. We want your day with us to be as fun, informative, and safe as possible and ask that you read the below information ahead of your session with us. Physical ability: A reasonable level of physical fitness is required to take part in an experience day. There is a decent amount of walking required. We can accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters; however, prior notice will be needed so we can make arrangements for the day. Some birds of prey will not tolerate wheelchairs or mobility scooters, and you may find that they will not fly to you if you are using one. We apologise in advance if this is the case, but each bird has their own personality and likes and dislikes. Footwear and Clothing: As would be expected, please do dress suitably for the weather forecast on the day of your experience. In the event of rain or cold weather please bring a nice warm coat. Whilst we would prefer umbrellas were not used, these can be accommodated, and we can also provide them for you. Some species of birds of prey are not tolerant of Umbrellas. Absolutely no open toed shoes are allowed on experience days, and we suggest bringing a sturdy pair of walking boots or wellies, whatever the weather. This is applicable to spectators too. Following the avian influenza pandemic, footbaths will be in use at the time of your experience. Hats, sunglasses and other such headwear can be worn, however, some birds of prey simply will not tolerate the presence of them and so these items may have to be removed for the bird to fly to you. Perfumes can be worn on experiences. Personal Hygiene: A suitable level of hygiene must be carried out whilst on your experience. We advise washing your hands with soap and hot running water before and after your experience. Hand sanitiser is available for use also, during the experience, but soap and water are preferred. Please refrain from eating during experiences. If it is paramount that food must be eaten i.e. Diabetes, the experience will be halted, and hands must be washed thoroughly before eating. Please refrain from touching your face and the face of others whilst on your experience. Stroking, touching, Petting: Whilst we understand it can be difficult to refrain from doing so, we kindly ask that you do not attempt to touch, stroke or pet our birds of prey. The repeated action of doing so can damage the birds’ feathers as they have natural oils on them to protect them from harsh weather, repeated touching can disturb these oils and adversely affect their ability to do so. Birds of prey do not enjoy being stroked or pet as a cat or dog would. Repeated touching and disturbance can make them feel anxious and this can present as aggressive behaviour Raw meat: Our birds of prey are fed a diet of raw meat from a range of animals including, but not limited to: Day old cockerel chicks (chicken) Rats Mice Pigeon Quail Rabbit Fish As such, there can be bacteria present that can cause illness if not handled properly, including, but not limited to, Salmonella, E. Coli, Campylobacter. Please ensure that you follow your falconers’ instructions clearly and in full whilst on your experience to avoid any cross contamination. When flying Owls, the falconer will feed them by hand themselves as Owls cannot see well up-close. Do not touch the food at any point whilst the owl is eating. With other species such as Hawks, Vultures, Eagles, Buzzards etc, the food will be placed into your gauntlet/glove by the falconer. Do not touch the food at any point. If the food falls from your glove, let it fall and it will either be retrieved by your falconer, or the bird will catch it any way! Birds of prey can be very protective of their food, and this can present as aggression if you attempt to touch or move the food in anyway. A separate document can be provided outlining the potential risks. Zoonoses related to birds of prey and their feed: By following all instructions provided on the day, the chances of these being transmitted is extremely low. Disposable gloves can be provided for the duration of your experience if you would like. If you have a latex allergy, please inform us at the earliest possible instance. Cuts, Scrapes, open wounds: If you have any of the above injuries occur leading up to your session with us. They will need to be covered either by bandages or a suitable covering. If on your left hand, a disposable glove will need to be worn underneath your gauntlet/glove at all times throughout your experience. Gauntlets/Glove are cleaned and disinfected thoroughly between each use. However, we cannot guarantee with absolute certainty that they are completely germ free. As such, we ask that you try not to touch the palm of your glove directly. When the glove is not on your hand, please hold it either by the tassel (if there is one) or by the forearm of the glove. Weather: We very rarely postpone or cancel experiences due to poor weather. If we cancelled every time it rained, we’d only conduct experiences for a week out of the year! However, in the rare instance that we do need to postpone experiences, we will get in touch with you by 8:00am at the latest on the day of your experience. We will get in touch via email and/or telephone using the number provided on your booking details. If this is the case, you will be offered further dates to rebook your experience, refunds are not applicable in this instance. If you get rained off mid-way through your experience and the falconer feel’s it’s best to halt flying, you will be offered further dates to rebook the remainder of your experience. Refunds are not applicable in this instance. Guest Behaviour: Aggressive and/or offensive language and behaviour will not be tolerated on any experience. If at any point our staff, or other guests in the group are made to feel uncomfortable as a result of another guests’ behaviour, the guest will be asked to leave. We reserve the right to halt an experience at any point if we feel the safety and comfort of our Birds of Prey, staff and/or guests are at risk. Refunds will not be given, and their voucher will not be available to rebook. If at any point a guest is found to be aggressive toward any of our birds of prey, the experience will be halted immediately. The offending guest will be asked to leave, and the police will be alerted as to their behaviour. Refunds will not be given, and their voucher will not be available to rebook. Whilst we know it can be very exciting, loud noises, screaming, and shouting are discouraged on experiences as these actions can adversely affect our birds of prey. Many species have impeccable hearing, and loud noises can even be painful for them. If a guest is found to blatantly disregard the instructions given on an experience such to the point it is found to affect the safety and well-being of our birds of prey, staff and other guests. The guest will be warned and shown once more how to properly carry out the action. If the instructions are once again ignored, the guest will be asked to leave. Refunds will not be given, and their voucher will not be available to rebook. Smoking: As expected, smoking is discouraged on experience days. However, the person is welcome to smoke at an appropriate distance from the rest of the group and birds of prey. Hands must be cleaned thoroughly before and after doing so. Please do not dispose of your cigarette butts on the floor as we would like to leave the countryside and the stunning formal gardens of Eastwell Manor as though we had never been there! Cigarette butts can be disposed of in suitable bin once the experience has finished. Dogs/Guide Dogs: Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate dogs or guide dogs on any of our experience days. If you would like further information regarding this decision, please do get in touch and we will be happy to send over further documentation. Pregnancy: Whilst the birds of prey pose no specific risk to pregnant people, please feel free to inform us ahead of time as we may be able to make accommodations for you depending on how far along you are. This is entirely at your discretion and is in no way required to take part in an experience. Photos, Videos and Reviews: You are welcome to take as many photos and videos as you like on your experience. Please do also feel free to ask your falconer to take some photos for you if you’d like! Reviews are also welcome, and we’d love to hear your feedback! You can leave us a review on TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook or even send them to us directly, we love to know what you enjoyed most about your time with us as well as the ways you think we could improve. We understand that all of this information can be daunting but can assure you that you will have a fantastic time with us and our birds on your experience. If you require any further clarification on any aspect of your experience, guidance, animal welfare or anything else, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to help in any way we can!
Hands-on flying a range of Owls
