A petition calling for the release of the Dutch ‘horror owl’ from captivity has been signed by over 1,700 people.

The eagle owl attacked dozens of people in the town of Purmerend, north of Amsterdam, and generated newspaper headlines around the world.

The owl was caught last month and officials are currently deciding what should be done with it.

However, Cor Lamers, who was himself attacked by the bird, started the petition in an effort to have it released into a nature reserve somewhere in Europe.

‘It was flying around for five weeks and I grew attached to the noise it made,’ he told the local broadcaster RTVNH. In addition, it is ‘hell’ for a bird with a wingspan of 1.8 metres to be kept in a cage, he says.

A falconer managed to capture the aggressive bird which had forced several people to get hospital treatment for wounds to their heads during its five-week reign of terror.

The petition will be handed over to local council official Mario Hegger on Thursday.