Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Environmentally Responsible Agricultural Solutions
The long time collaboration with the NonProfit TYTO aims to promote natural solutions for combating harmful small mammals and the poisons used to eliminate them by the farmers in the agricultural ecosystems of Greece. The focus of this effort takes place in Thessaly, where the pilot action is being conducted since 2016. Harmful small mammals (rodents/mice) have been causing significant damage to agricultural production and the economy of affected areas every year and for decades, due to their population outbreaks. Additionally, they carry numerous zoonotic diseases that are dangerous to humans. The conventional approach of dealing with them involves rodenticides, which infiltrate the groundwater and are thus consumed by local residents. Moreover, they are also absorbed through the soil into agricultural produce, ultimately being consumed by the general public.
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is an owl species which exclusively inhabits, nests and reproduces in agricultural ecosystems, without being territorial. It is estimated that a breeding pair consumes around 20,000 mice annually for their diet. TYTO’s serious scientific effort aims to demonstrate to authorities and the local community the comprehensive ecological solution that replaces harmful and costly rodenticides with Barn Owl populations and their beneficial natural effects.
