11,000 anglers back otter controls

MORE than 11,000 anglers have signed a Barbel Society-run petition designed to persuade the Government to allow the non-lethal control of otters within the UK.

Now the society, which launched the petition in January, is urging more people to sign up to create a greater awareness of the subject – with the overall goal of reaching 100,000 signatures.

Once this target has been reached, the issue must then by law be discussed in Parliament.

The society’s Lawrence Breakspear described the response as being phenomenal, but added there was still a long way to go.

“We set out to get people’s attention about this problem, and we’ve done just that,” he said.

“We’ve created fantastic awareness, which has sparked debates between anglers and non-anglers too, but on the other hand we knew what the outcome would be. The 11,000 signatures were never going to be enough – we need to push for more.”

For more information on the petition please visit www.petition. parliament.uk/petitions/209735.

Alternatively, you can read about the petition on the Barbel Society’s website at www.thebarbelsociety.