About Us
About Us
The Raptor Centre
The Raptor Centre was founded by Eddie Hare (pictured to the right with Helga his Bald Eagle) in 1977 at Chilham Castle near Canterbury in the middle of Kent. In 2002, Eddie was joined by his wife; Veronica. For the last 20 years we have been based at Groombridge Place.
November 2018 saw the relocation of The Raptor Centre to Hobbledown; a mystical park and zoo in Surrey.
Meet Us
Veronica
Veronica’s first bird was a male European Kestrel – for the record we don’t recommend small birds such as Kestrels for inexperienced people, however Veronica was under the constant supervision of Eddie.
The bird was just over 6 weeks old, and although young, he was fully grown, and Veronica spent all her time with Gollum, and he turned into an incredible little Falcon. Given good weather conditions, Gollum would often remain airborne for up to 20 minutes during his exercise period.
Veronica enjoys flying her birds both in demonstrations and privately.
Picture is of Veronica and Maleficent the African Fish Eagle.
Why Choose Us
We are working hard to create a Centre where visitors can learn all about Birds of Prey, both in captivity and in the wild. There is the chance to see our birds up close in their aviaries, or even closer on our experiences. Click here to go to our Experiences page
Starting in 1977 up until 2018, we have taken in hundreds of sick or injured, and even young birds of prey that have fallen out of nests. Where possible, those birds were rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Some birds that were permanently disabled stayed with us, and in many cases we were able to pair them up with another permanently disabled bird. If they bred successfully, we released their young into the wild in their place.
Our flying demonstrations have also played an important role in conservation, as we are firm believers that by sharing our birds with visitors, it helps to get rid of fear, and create an opportunity whereby people can begin to understand, and grow to care about and love Birds of Prey. This is vital, because without care, there isn’t a creature on the planet that can survive.