Deadly otters target koi carp
VALUABLE fish in garden ponds are being killed by hungry otters.
Pensioner Pete Bayley is distraught after dozens of his koi carp were killed.
The 71-year-old from Swindon said: “There were small clawed footprints in the snow.
“I went to the pond and there was just one small fish left of the 40 that had been in there. I was really upset and annoyed.
“Those koi have been with us since they were three inches long.”
He added: “Anyone with a fishpond should be careful. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anybody else.”
Trevor Weaire, of Westbury, Wilts, said 33 of his 34 pond fish, worth £3,500, had been eaten.
Otters are protected under UK law as their population has declined rapidly in recent years.
Steve Smailes of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said pond owners should tighten security.
He said: “Should an otter come across a pond stocked with fish, it will naturally be interested.
“This can be a particular problem for people with collections of koi carp, which are both sizeable and highly visible.” A HERD of Old Spot pigs has been replaced by plastic ones at the Dean Heritage Centre in Coleford, Glos, because the real ones were costing too much to feed.
BURST