The case for culling Otters

[Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC}]

"I'm sorry that John Wilson is leaving the UK but he takes with him a point of view that has become redundant. It's not that he's wrong but that his solution belongs in Victorian Britain."

Maybe not in your world but speaking personally I want no allegiance with the sort of man who describes a magnificent creature such as the otter as a 'Giant predatory rat with Doberman's teeth'. And then suggests that they should be indiscriminately culled because they eat fish and because our 'forefathers' did so.

I don't care what their impact is on angling they are an incredible member of an incredible group of mammals. I'm not daft enough or sentimental enough to not want them controlled if it is categorically proven that, because of over population, they are impacting detrimentally on aquatic environments generally, but to simply hate an animal because it eats fish is the mindset of a fool.

I've never been a fan of Wilson's. I find him arrogant and self important, but any admiration I might have had for his part as an 'ambassador' for angling disappeared last night following his moronic interview on the TV.

 

[chefster]

I've never been a fan of Wilson's. I find him arrogant and self important, but any admiration I might have had for his part as an 'ambassador' for angling disappeared last night following his moronic interview on the TV.

You find him arrogant?:wh

 

[Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC}]

Slightly off topic Phil, but what are your views on the contention that the otter's preferred food item is the eel? I'm not convinced myself but would be interested in hearing your take on it.

 

[The bad one]

Slightly off topic Phil, but what are your views on the contention that the otter's preferred food item is the eel? I'm not convinced myself but would be interested in hearing your take on it.

Otters being ever the opportunists they'll feed on what's most plentiful and abundant. In the past it was so that eels made up a large part of their diet, as they were plentiful. Simpson et al found in late 1980s through stomach content analysis that the otters of the SW had about 55% of the diet containing eels.

A point here on eels they tend to hide around rocks and other debris and not swim off and scatter when predator about making them much easier to find and catch.

Elsewhere the picture in much less so and them ugly buggers bullheads made a significant % of their diet. See figures as high as 38% of the diet. Probably for the same reason as eels they tend to hide rather than swim away.
My personal observation, on my local river is, the otters will take both eels (still quite plentiful) dace and small chub.
So with the dramatic decline in eel stocks in many river systems, they aren’t going to make up a large part of their diet because of it.

It’s always been my personal view and still is, the key to angling living with otters is fully sustainable systems.

 

[Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC}]

Cheers for that Phil.