ORG XMIT: TOK103 FILE - In this Thursday, May 29, 2008 file photo, a group of barn owls is seen at the Wildlife Rehab and Education center in Houston, Texas. When the rats descended in swarms and wiped out an entire season's harvest, hungry Lao villagers supplemented their diets by hunting barn owls, snakes and other wild animals. But now, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization plans to persuade hungry Lao that protecting the pale-faced owls is a faster way to a full belly. The owls are natural predators of rats, and one can eat a dozen rodents in a day. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Sharon Steinmann, File) ** NO SALES **
Section:Photo
