Otters & The Law

Otters live on water courses and are afforded legal protection under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). It is illegal to kill, injure or capture an otter, destroy, damage, or obstruct an otter’s resting place, or intentionally or recklessly disturb an otter while it is occupying its resting place.

Otter’s Typical Habitat

Despite huge population declines in the last century, otters are now well established in most of the UK but still have low numbers in the South East of England. Otters can inhabit most types of water courses and can even use ditches for dispersal. They are also found in urban areas. Otters are mainly nocturnal, solitary animals that feed on fish.

Otter Survey Techniques

Otters are hard to find and otter survey techniques must look for a variety of signs, such as droppings, footprints, resting places and slides.

Otter Survey Season

Although otter surveys can take place at any time of year, they are better when the water level is low and the vegetation has died back. Wildlife cameras can also assist with surveys. Phlorum can conduct otter surveys and provide advice for developments concerned about impacting otters. We can also devise appropriate mitigation strategies where required.

Contact our team of ecology consultants for your free otter survey consultation now.