I read about this a few months ago in one of the birding magazines I subscribe to. These people are serious. They actually want to KILL the naturally occurring barred owl in order to "save" a declining subspecies of the same bird. (Many ornithologists consider the barred owl and spotted owl to be one species with clinal variations.)
To make matters worse, the barred owl also interbreeds with the spotted owl, creating what they call a "sparred" owl.
I've not read what they intend to do with this bird.
You're right. You can't make this stuff up. These people are unadulterated LUNATICS!!!!!