Warning after otter dies in unlicensed net in Stroud

An otter has died after being caught in an unlicensed trap.

Gloucestershire Police have warned people about the dangers of traps after a wild swimmer came across a "distressed" otter in the River Frome at Stroud on Wednesday 28 June.

The swimmer then found another dead otter trapped inside a signal crayfish trap nearby.

The incident was reported to police and the net removed from the river.

Otters are a protected species in UK law and it is an offence to deliberately kill, injure, disturb or capture them.

Alex Myrie, senior animal welfare officer at Stroud District Council said: "The trapping of signal crayfish can only be done on licence issued by the Environment Agency, and a condition of that licence is that all traps must have an otter guard.

"This doesn't appear to have been done on this occasion and as a result, an otter has become caught in the net and has sadly died.

"This is extremely upsetting and a second otter at the scene was visibly distressed.

"Therefore we would ask anyone who has a licence to trap crayfish, to ensure they are complying with the conditions of their licence and to trap responsibly."

The incident was reported to animal welfare officers at Stroud District Council and police were informed.

The Environment Agency does not allow or licence traps in the Frome area due to the potential risk to endangered native white clawed crayfish, the only exception being for scientific monitoring.

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