Mourners will now be able to give their loved ones a feathery farewell, with the launch of so-called 'funerowls'.

While releasing doves has long been associated with memorial services, a Maidstone business is making the birds of prey available for ceremonies, due to popular demand.

Raptors from the Kent Owl Academy can be booked to add a special touch to a family member’s send-off.

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Mollie King, director of the academy, which also offers the birds as ring-bearers at weddings, says she thinks seeing owls released into the sky will bring peace to mourners.

She said: “I have had the Kent Owl Academy for just over a year now and we have become quite popular.

“I have had a few people asking what the deal is with having owls at funerals and if that is something we can do.

“It is a brand new thing and it might take a while to get going but I want to be the go-to person for it.”

Packages for the presence of an owl at a funeral begin at £200 and the birds can be booked for funerals, wakes, memorial gatherings and life celebrations.

They could be released into the sky or present on a static perch or with a handler.

It would be left up to the client to gain permission for the owls to attend but Ms King, based at Kent Life, Sandling, has already contacted funeral directors in an attempt to persuade venues to allow owls into ceremonies.

She said: “The demand seems to be there from the public. Having lost someone very close to me in November I have been trying to see what I could use my business for.

"You have only got to look at owls in mythology and they are meant to be wise and can see what people can’t see.

“Some spiritual thinkers might believe that owls are looking after their loved ones as they fly over the burial ground.”

Owls are one of the few birds to have been found in prehistoric cave paintings.

They have long been associated with life and death and today there are still many cultures that surround owls with myths.

In ancient Greece, owls were seen as a symbols of good fortune and the idea of the owl as a wise bird may have come from the bird’s association with Athene, the goddess of wisdom.

Romans, on the other hand, believed they were omens of impending doom and it was considered bad luck to see one before a battle.

Many famous emperors including Julius Caesar and Augustus supposedly had their deaths predicted by a hooting owl.

In Indian folklore, the number of hoots are believed to be able to forecast the future, whether it be death, good fortune or arriving guests.

In Tibet they are seen as divine messengers while some Native Americans see owls as protective spirits of the recently departed, or even the embodiment of gods.

Closer to home though, and the depiction of the "wise old owl" is perhaps most recognisable.

For more information visit the Kent Owl Academy website.