Otters give pond owners something to carp about
Valuable pet fish are being eaten by mammals often pushed out of habitats by unsupervised releases
RESURGENT otter populations are killing valuable pet fish, police in Wiltshire have warned, amid claims that wildlife groups are releasing them in unsuitable locations.
Otter populations have bounced back since the middle of the last century, when habitat pollution nearly wiped out their presence in the UK.
They are now a protected species found across the country after a concerted reintroduction effort backed by the Government.
But while the last official reintroduction of otters took place in 1999, smaller wildlife groups continue to release rescued animals into the wild.
These ad-hoc reintroductions often take place in areas with existing populations, pushing the established otters out of the area, Ben Potterton from the Otter Trust said.
“Releases have to be done in a scientific manner and with landowners’ permission,” he said. “These groups are doing a great job, but it may well be that conflict is being caused and the otters might range for several miles, and eventually find people’s ponds.”
Wiltshire residents have complained about the loss of thousands of pounds worth of fish in recent years.
“I’ve been keeping fish for at least 25 years, and have never seen an otter until now,” Leo Pocock from Pewsey said in 2020.
“They took an 18in siroutsuri – a type of black and white carp – worth hundreds of pounds.
“I lost £1,500 worth of fish, but it isn’t about the money. I’ve had them since they were tiny, and I see them and feed them twice a day – like you would a cat.”
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said the force had consulted farmers and gamekeepers over the recent spate of disappearances, and was now “certain it is otters that are causing the damage”.
They are advising households to cover their garden ponds with mesh or erect a wire fence.
“We appreciate this is not a police matter but the fish are worth a lot of money,” a force spokesman said.
David Watts of Wiltshire said his pond had been targeted by otters despite doing his best to deter them.
“They emptied my netted large pond two years ago,” he said. “All native carp.”
Anna Forbes from Action for the River Kennet said otters would always be a problem for fish owners living near healthy rivers.
‘Even if there are plenty of fish in the river they will go for the ponds because it’s an easy win for a hunter’
“Even if there are plenty of fish in the river they will go for the ponds because it’s an easy win for a hunter. It’s basically a big bowl of fish,” she said. “Of course, they don’t know it’s someone’s garden. So it’s one of those things that will happen. They’re wild creatures that are going for an easy meal.”
Angling groups have raised concerns over the speed and spread of their reintroduction.
“The legal reintroduction was done without a huge amount of consultation,” said Jamie Coo, chief executive officer of the Angling Trust.
“Historically otters have eaten eels and small fish and they came back into an ecosystem that had changed considerably. We have got larger and older fish that have basically never known an otter in their ecosystem.
“Particularly smaller rivers, lakes, still waters and ponds were really quite hard hit in certain areas. People’s livelihoods have been damaged.”