Watch Out For Otter Traps
After decades of persecution, water pollution and habitat destruction, the otter is making a steady comeback in British rivers. Road casualties are pretty much unavoidable, but otters also face tragic ‘accidents’ in illegal traps.
Some of these are set deliberately to trap otters (which is of course highly illegal) which are persecuted for the ‘crime’ of eating fish. But some of these lovely creatures – like the one above – also fall foul of crayfish traps, which are also often set up illegally.
The deadly trap shown above was found earlier this year on the River Witham at Queen Elizabeth Park in Grantham.
Darren Randall, fisheries officer with the Environment Agency, said:
“We all want to protect our precious and threatened wildlife, like otters, water voles and native crayfish, which is why it’s so important that activities like fishing and crayfish-trapping are carried out responsibly.
“This case is especially worrying because it threatens native, endangered species of crayfish, which are afforded the same protections as otters under the law.”
If you see suspicious fishing or trapping activity, please report it to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 and help prevent tragedies like this in the future.