Ensnared by the plastic menace... otter at risk of choking as cable tie cuts into its fur
HELPLESS and in danger of choking, this otter is yet another victim of plastic waste poisoning our water ways.
Unable to remove or loosen the plastic cable tie, he was spotted with the cord digging into his neck in Dorset’s River Stour.
David Webb, from the UK Wild Otter Trust, said there were fears the animal could drown or choke if the tie became caught underwater. The trust is seeking permission from Natural England to trap the male otter and remove the cord, which was first spotted at the weekend.
Mr Webb told the BBC the animal was being monitored but was not yet displaying sign of distress. But the trust said: ‘Rubbish being left behind is a huge issue. If you leave rubbish for wildlife to get trapped or caught in – often they die a painful death.’
The Daily Mail has been at the forefront of campaigns to stop the tide of plastic poison damaging the planet. Eight million tons of plastic is dumped into the sea every year, while one million sea birds a year die from eating plastic waste.
A turtle also made headlines recently, after she was photographed swimming in the sea with a strip of plastic trailing from her mouth. The plastic bag had become lodged 8in down her throat.
Thankfully, diver Saeed Rashid, who took the pictures, noticed she was in distress and managed to remove the plastic.
And earlier this month 11million Blue Planet II viewers were moved by scenes of a mother pilot whale holding her dead calf – with plastics thought to have contributed to the baby’s death.