Here's news that animal lovers will give a hoot about: animal rights group PETA is accusing the Warner Bros. studio tour of mistreating the owls in its London-area "Harry Potter" behind the scenes exhibit.

According to PETA, which posted a video from the tour, owls are forced to perform "demeaning tricks," spend too much time in cages and are subjected to flash photography that upsets them.

PETA said that the birds were "clearly distressed."

"Animals should never be hired out as if they were living props," the text accompanying PETA's video reads. "Companies frequently force animals into stressful, highly unnatural situations and keep them shackled in small cages and some even use cruel training methods behind the scenes. This inexcusable mistreatment of sensitive wild animals has nothing to do with what Harry Potter is really about."

In response to the allegations of mistreatment, Warner Bros. told the BBC, "The owls that appeared in the 'Harry Potter' film series occasionally come to the studio tour. They appear for short periods and are exclusively handled by the experts at Birds and Animals, the company that owns and trains them. We have asked them to review this matter."

A spokesperson for Birds and Animals, which owns the owls, told the BBC that they had seen the footage and would review procedures.

"The owls are always given regular breaks and closely monitored by a vet, they said. "Now that we have had the opportunity to see the footage, we have instigated a review of the issues raised."