If it's not one thing it's an otter!

supa_stench

Hi folks,

I've just seen a fairly big looking dog Otter swimming around in a lake that i've spent thousands of euro stocking with expensive fish!!

I need to relocate this Otter and any others that may be about to somewhere where they wont do so much damage.

How am I going to trap this animal? Where would be the best place to put it once I have trapped it?

Any help would be hughly appreciated as this animal could put me out of business before I've even started!!!

bazza888

you will have to check if its legal to move them,other lads will know alot more about that

foxboy

supa_stench wrote: »

Hi folks,

I've just seen a fairly big looking dog Otter swimming around in a lake that i've spent thousands of euro stocking with expensive fish!!

I need to relocate this Otter and any others that may be about to somewhere where they wont do so much damage.

How am I going to trap this animal? Where would be the best place to put it once I have trapped it?

Any help would be hughly appreciated as this animal could put me out of business before I've even started!!!

you need to put an electric fence around the lake to keep him out

Birdnuts

Just Ok it with the local NPWS ranger - then hopefully you can trap it and release it into the nearest major watercourse:)

landkeeper

Birdnuts wrote: »

Just Ok it with the local NPWS ranger - then hopefully you can trap it and release it into the nearest major watercourse:)

and then trap it again next week when it comes back and so on if it's found nice tasty easy to catch fish it'll be back i'd think it needs to ba relocated several miles away for it to be a success but talk to your local wildlife ranger

meathstevie

Fully protected animal, you'll need a licence from the NPWS and a very good reason to trap and relocate him in order to get the licence. I'm afraid the otter going for a bit of grub ( unfortunately your expensive fish stocks )mightn't cut the mustard with the NPWS.

The fencing is probably the best idea.

Birdnuts

landkeeper wrote: »

it needs to ba relocated several miles away for it to be a success but talk to your local wildlife ranger

Can't argue with that - I wonder is our friend far from the coast;)

supa_stench

Thanks for the reply's everybody.

I've just emailed the npws so I guess I just have to wait and see what they say.

If they did give me the permission to relocate are they an easy animal to trap anyway?

Someone told me they point blank refuse to go anywhere near a humane trap.

The same person also told me that they only ever eat fish that they catch themselves. I.e baiting a trap is useless anyway!

Could this be true?

Vegeta

Hey folks sent this to Nature and Bird Watching as more folk might have experience of this there

Mods if this is not an appropriate section feel free to bounce it back or move it on

Dan o kelly

fencing can be very expensive, so a humane trap would seem like the cheaper easier to go. i`ve also heard that humane traps are not that effective ,i`d be interested to hear from someone who has experence with these traps

Birdnuts

Dan o kelly wrote: »

fencing can be very expensive, so a humane trap would seem like the cheaper easier to go. i`ve also heard that humane traps are not that effective ,i`d be interested to hear from someone who has experence with these traps

Seem to work well enough for mink:)

Cass

Just to throw my tupence worth in here, meathstevie has it spot on.

They are a highly protected species and not only from an irish point of law, but also from an EU perspective under 1976 Wildlife Act, as amended by the 2000 wildlife Act, and EU Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC) . It is illegal not only to (obviously) hunt or kill them, but also to trap, snare, unintentionally injure, disturb nesting, feeding grounds. So generally anything that disrupts their natural habitat/actions.

To that point i would not erect any fencing or do anything that would prevent the Otters from going about their daily activities until further clearance is sought from the NPWS.

littlebug

I'm happy to leave this here if you wish OP. I doubt you'll get better advice than that of Ezridax.

If you want me to move the post on anywhere else let me know.

Birdnuts

supa_stench wrote: »

Thanks for the reply's everybody.

?

I mean't to ask how big the lake was??:)

supa_stench

It's in or around 6 acres in size. It also has a small river close by where the otters are most probably swimming up before entering the lake.



Im out of business if a solution to this situation cant be found.

Birdnuts

supa_stench wrote: »

It's in or around 6 acres in size. It also has a small river close by where the otters are most probably swimming up before entering the lake.
.

Fencing could be an option here allright given that the body of water isn't too large - I assume rabbit/chicken wire would be appropriate

supa_stench

Unfortunately a basic chicken wire fence is no obsticle to Mr Otter im told. An effective fence would need to be concreted at the base in order to stop him digging under and have an overhang to stop him climbing over the top of it. The wire would need be heavy duty as an otter will just bite through ordinary chicken wire with ease. An electric fence is not possible either due to young kids using the lake as an amienity.

All this means that an effective fence is way way beyond my means. It could cost anything between 10 and 15k.

Its looking like my beautiful otter's are gonna put me out of business unless the npws agree to relocate them.

Cass

Lads, i know a fence will not be thrown up in a day or day, but please contact the NPWS before doing ANYTHING. I'm no legal eagle, but the laws protecting Otters and their habitat are quite broad in range, and whether they are there a week or month if they have established a nesting area or territory you cannot disturb them.

Its kinda long and i got lost parts of the way through it (with the wording), but have a read of this NPWS Otter.

Also for your information here is the contact details for the NPWS. A phone call may be of more benefit as the e-mails may not be responded to before you need to impliment some sort of action.

supa_stench

I understand that otters cannot be disturbed.

Unfortunately the powers that be will have no qualms about disturbing my children from their home when mortgage repayments cannot be met due to this business going down the tubes.

What frustrates so much is that this animal doesn't even eat the fish it kills, it just takes a small bite from under the neck. It's plainly just killing my fish for the fun of it.

Cass

I fully appreciate your situation, and i don't want to come across a preaching. Far from it. Its simply a word of caution.

I would just hate to see anything happen to you if you put up a fence or done something that in your, my or anyone else's eyes would be considered safe and necessary only to have it "blow" up in your face and find yourself in some sort of legal trouble if the authorities deemed your actions "illegal" or something to that effect.

The chances of this are slim, but better safe than sorry.

As to the Otter only killing and not fully eating the fish, well i really cannot comment too much on that simply because i do not know enough about them. If i were to hazard a guess i would say that due to the large number of fish you say you have put into the lake they are not exactly "stuck" and so can be "picky".

I really hope you get sorted without loosing too much stock/money, but trust me on the phone call thing. Much quicker than an e-mail from my own experience.

Half-cocked

Have you spoken to any other people in your line of business? I'm sure your problem isn't unique. There may be an effective and legal solution already out there.

Connacht

Also, we can assume you don't just have an otter, but otters - it wouldn't be a case of catching and relocating one, but several. Talk to the NPWS and resist carrying out some action(s) you may regret later. Best of luck.

Kess73

OP <MOD EDIT- referring to deleted post> wait to see what the response is from the NPWS.

If the otter/otters are resident in the river that runs alongside/feeds your lake, then they have been counted as part of the 2004/2005 national otter survey, which was the third such survey to be done in Ireland and one which I had a little involvement in, the other two being in the early 80's and early 90's.

The fourth one, the 2010/2011 survey, is underway and those otters will be noticed if they vanish from an area where they have been noted.


I do empathise with you as if the lake is to be a source of income for you, and I am assuming that it is either a small trout or carp fishing lake with the latter being very easy for otters to catch at this time of year given how lethargic carp can be in winter, then you need to feel that your investment is one that can be profitable.


I don't know if you have tried this route yet, but EPA (Environmental Protection Agency ) may be worth getting in touch with. I say this because in the UK the Environmental Agency set up a grant scheme for owners of fishery lakes to help part fund otter proof fencing that protected the lakes and also met the required guidelines of the legislation in place for the otters.

Now I am unsure if EPA have anything similar in place at the moment in Ireland, but it would do no harm to make contact and see if something like that is in place or if they can point you in a direction that may be of use to you.

EPA.


By phone
Telephone: 053-9160600
Fax: 053-9160699
Lo Call: 1890 335599 (note that the rates charged for the use of 1890 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers).

By post
EPA Headquarters
PO Box 3000
Johnstown Castle Estate
Co. Wexford
Ireland


http://www.epa.ie

They also have a number of regional Inspectorates and regional offices listed on their website if you want to get in touch with one that is local to you.

littlebug

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