THE owners of a birds of prey sanctuary said some will have to be put down after they lost a planning appeal.

Neil and Juliana Fowler, who run Scotton Owl and Raptor Rehabilitation at their home in Scotton, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, applied for retrospective permission for a change of use of their garden last year.

Richmondshire District Council refused the application after residents raised objections about increased traffic, noise and the number of visitors.

Mr and Mrs Fowler appealed against the decision, but planning inspector Richard Mordey said this week the council was right to refuse permission. He said the sanctuary led to conditions that people in the area should not have to endure.

The couple said the decision has put the lives of some of the birds at risk.

A statement from the sanctuary said closing would result in some birds having to be put down, because the Fowlers have been trying for months to re-home them.

It said several of them have injuries, but that no one wants birds that are no good for breeding, public display or handling. The statement said: "The sanctuary has been blamed for things such as a decrease in the wild bird population, an increase in crows and magpies, damaging the water table, an increase in traffic and parking, having too many visitors and bringing house prices down."

The sanctuary was set up in 1998 to care for injured wild birds, cruelty case captive-bred birds and to educate people on wildlife conservation.

Since it opened, 50 birds have been released to the wild and 17 have been re-homed.

Richmondshire District Council said it will have to take enforcement action to close the sanctuary, but that it is working with Mr and Mrs Fowler.

A spokesman said: "Enforcement action is obviously the next stage, and we will do that as sensitively as we can and give them a reasonable time period to comply. We will try and find an agreed timescale for them to clear it away."