Help find poachers, say police as otters found dead in net

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 16:24

POACHERS have been blamed for the deaths of a pair of otters on a Scots river.

The protected mammals were discovered drowned in an illegal net on the River Tweed.

As well as the otters, the net also contained 13 dead sea trout and a dead cormorant. It is believed the trap, found on Monday, had been in place for up to two weeks.

Police and water bailiffs have condemned the poachers and an investigation has been launched to identify the culprits.

The incident happened on a stretch of the 97-mile river, which marks the Scotland/England border, at Horncliffe near Berwick-upon-Tweed.

It is believed the otters had entered the net to eat the fish and became trapped and drowned.

PC Ruaraidh Hamilton, Wildlife Co-ordination Officer, said: "This sort of tragic incident displays the reckless nature of poachers who put nets across rivers.

"Otter numbers went into rapid decline during the 50s through to the 70s and as such they are protected under European legislation.

"They feed on the fish within the river and would have been attracted to the dead trout within the net before being caught themselves and drowning.

"Anyone with information about river poaching or who can help us locate the individuals responsible for this illegal trap is asked to contact police immediately."

The net was discovered by River Tweed Commission bailiff Kenny Graham who said he was devastated by the find.

He said: "This is not just poaching, there's nothing romantic about this. Everybody loves otters. To find one was bad enough but to find two was devastating.

"The poachers had been trying to catch salmon. They must have put the net in and then been disturbed and left it.

"If nets like that are left in the water they are going to keep catching things. It's an absolute waste of fish but the water has got lots of fish. However, otters are a different story.

"I think it is disgusting. I hope that if people spot anything strange happening along the river they will call crimestoppers."

Scotland's largest animal welfare charity, the Scottish SPCA, said the "reckless" behaviour of poachers must be stopped.

Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said: "Once again the illegal practice of poaching has resulted in a protected species being slaughtered.

"The use of fixed nets in fishing is by its very nature indiscriminate and setting them is reckless in the extreme, often resulting in target and non-target species being caught and killed.

"Otters were all but wiped out from south-east Scotland so we need to do everything we can to keep the population at a healthy level, across the whole of the country. We urge anyone with information to contact Lothian and Borders police or Crimestoppers."