This is not actually related to dogs,but i think it puts the so called animal agencies in a bad light,but i would appreciate other opinions.

I live in a rural area, which has at least two fresh water lochs. My brother whilst walking the dogs on a country road, came across two dead Otters lying either side of the road, it would appear that they had been hit by a car,but it was strange how they ended up on opposite sides.

Although initially i had not seen them, but going off what he told me,my first call was to the sspca,my reasoning was that if they were a breeding pair they might have young somewhere that would be reliant on their parents.

I got through to them easily enough, and was told to hold the line and they would transfer me through to the wildlife section,but they were not answering just straight through to answer phone,so related what had happened and left my mobile number and house number,which is what the answer phone request that you do, and they would get back to you.

That did not happen that day,and because my concerns were mounting i rang the sspca again,spoke to the same operator who said that she would try for me, and she also got through to the wildlife answer phone,she then gave me a number of a Otter sanctuary in Skye,who i have to say were very helpful,the lady who i spoke to told me to ring the police and ask to speak to a wildlife officer,that is what i did, i related the story once more, she took all the details,i,e phone numbers home address etc., then she said someone would contact me,and probably bag the dead animals and take them away,and try to ascertain what they died of. As of yet i am still waiting...

This morning i saw the Otters for myself, and as far as i could see they have no crush injuries,no bleeding,nothing to suggest they have been hit by a car, and if they had, what is the chance that two would be hit?

I have been on the internet earlier and according to what i have read Otters are a protected species,so i cannot understand the apathy of the so called animal agencies.

If something other than a accident that has caused the Otters death,surely they have a duty to investigate it,as the lady at the sanctuary said it is a big loss to lose two Otters in any area as they are not prolific breeders.

I contacted my local paper earlier,was told that if they are still lying by the roadside in a couple of days they would run the story in the paper, and get in touch with the authorities,assuming they would have better luck than me.

They have been lying in the road four days now,i did not expect something to happen within the hour,but four days!!,or is it me, am i expecting too much?

If you suspect a crime has been committed perhaps the police would be more appropriate.  Many areas have a section dealing with wildlife and countryside crimes.

I don't wish to speculate as i could be so wrong but among the freshwater fishing community, sadly otters protected or not are seen as pests as they eat salmon and other fish. My guess is they have been poisoned to protect fish stocks either by a poacher or gamekeeper. Its a sad fact of man competing with wildlife for food.

I hope you have better luck than I did with the wildlife officer, I've been reporting deer poaching for over a year now and still no action been taken, despite a report in the paper the other week saying that the police are having a crack down on poaching in my area..I'll believe it when I see it.

How do you know they have not taken any action? 

Presumably because she said she saw the otters herself, which from her timeline looks like being at least 2 days later from when her brother first saw them.

How do you know they have not taken any action?

In my case every time I've phoned they said they'd want to speak to me, nobody's ever got back in touch, I even took photo's of the remains so they could see the animal had been killed by people and not just died. The poaching is still continuing, they are very obvious about it too, they like to leave the neatly severed head, pluck and lower limbs on a footpath.

Maybe another avenue to try http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwcu/2.asp?z=2

I know in the link it says N Wales but reading the site which is still under construction they do appear to cover the whole of the UK

Otters (Lutra lutra)

Otter populations declined dramatically during the 1 950s and 1 960s throughout Europe as a result of pollution in rivers, pesticides on agricultural land and the drainage of wetland areas. Otters have disappeared from most of the rivers in central and southern England.

Otters are strictly protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act and cannot be killed, kept or sold (even stuffed specimens) without a licence.

I did report the matter to the police, who said they would get in touch with their wildlife officer,that was three days ago,and i have not heard anything.

I am beginning to think that no one cares,even for protected animals,it makes me so annoyed,three animal agencies and not one of them have done anything, even out of respect for the animals they could have been lifted instead of left to rot, which is what is probably going to happen.

> The poaching is still continuing, they are very obvious about it too, they like to leave the neatly severed head, pluck and lower limbs on a footpath.

Yes, I meant the poaching.  It will be extremely difficult to actually catch people at in where there are very large areas of land involved but there may be other activity going on that you are not aware of such as intelligence gathering, inspection of local game suppliers etc.

It is a shame that noone has got back to you Boroilover but it may be that, considering the likelyhood of finding the necessary evidence to confirm that a crime has actually been committed let alone bring about a successful prosecution this has been set at a low priority against any other matters they may have to deal with.
If anyone had actually witnessed the event it might have been different.
I think it is very sad but I think we have to be realistic about these things.

Yes Stooge, i have to agree with you,it would be extremely difficult i suspect to catch whoever if indeed a crime has been committed,but as far as i am aware no one has bothered to take a look,it may be roadkill but what is the likelyhood of two Otters being hit by a car?,Not only that even if someone has come out to tale a look, common curtesy would be to let me know that it has been checked out, but nothing,so SSPCA,not buying your christmas cards,i just don,t want my money going on smart expensive looking uniform for the officers,who work for the so called caring animal agency.

> so SSPCA,not buying your christmas cards

I am not sure why you are blaming SSPCA.  Having looked at their web site I am not sure their stated remit would cover this.  I do think it would be down to the police.

In England or Wales you should report dead otters to the Environment Agency - see here -  but I'd guess you call SEPA would you?  Alternatively have a look for otter projects in your region.  Many volunteer groups monitor the health and status of otters along UK rivers and would be very interested in any information you can provide, inc photographs.

If you get no joy, can you phone the council about the otter carcasses?  I once rang our local council about the removal of dead badgers from a lane in our village (as my son found their dead and bloated bodies so distressing when he had to cycle past).  The person I spoke to was really helpful and, as we got talking and the conversation had drifted a bit to other wildlife, he explained that they liaise with other organisations as necessary :)

Worth a try...

Here you go B - have a look at the Cardiff Otter Project.  They are gathering data which includes results from Scotland and have specific reporting processes you can follow