Read this tell me what you yhink.

[dave fish]

just been readin angling times and a section on the otter problems we seem to be having
Now my personal thoughts are yeh its bad for anglers but isnt this a way of life nature intended -fish eat fish /algea otters eat fish thats how its been for thousands of years like i said its bad for anglers who spend hard earned cash on licenses and cant catch any fish but thats just how it is ,now you get the privatly owned fisheries who need to spend money on fences to keep them out to but if they hed fences in the first place for security reasons eg poaching/illegal fishing then it wouldnt matter i guess what im saying is yes its bad but otters were eating fish long before anglers wre born and thats life.

[Greenheart]

The difference was that years ago Otters used to eat small wild fish & Eels. Eels are now very scarce due to disease. Small fish have been hammered by the Cormorants which only leaves speciemen carp etc which fishery owners have spent thousands of pounds stocking. Wolves were one an indigenous species. If they were re-introduced today & they started munching domestic sheep & cows, there would be up-roar. So why not when Otters & Cormorants eat our domestic fish stocks. Years ago we had game keepers who would cull wild animals when they became too numerous & caused too much damage. They maintained a balance. I'm not anti Otter, (in fact i'd love to see one in the wild, other than roadkill). but I don't know what the answer to this problem is.

[fullcreel]

Otters are extremely wastful, it was also believed that they killed for the love of killing, one of the reasons they were persecuted. Otter hnts were serious events, the strain of dog 'Otterhound', has given us the Airdale.
As I understand it, otters when they kill a 'decent sized fish', only eat the liver. The club of which I ams secretary lost a 20lb+ common recently, to what we believe was on Otter.
I think its a case of over protection in some cases.
Wild waterways should be happily populated with otters, they are a natural predetor, and our native species have evolved with them in mind, but on man made lakes its a different story, perhaps liscenced culling? However this approach would be difficult to apply.
Badgers which have been protected are anigtmare for farmers, not just Bovine TB, damage to corn fields, I have neighbors growing corn, and Badgers do quite abit of damage, damage that hurts when we get a cold winter and fodder runs low.
I guess its a no win situation.

[dave fish]

i wouldnt be opposed to the odd cull now and again that way we can keep the numbers in check or even tagging them to find out how far they travel and to where and then how fast they populate that area what im saying is what is happening is a fact of life and we are powerless to intervene