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You are in: Landscape Planning > Ecology > Protected Species Surveys > Otters |
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| Landscape Planning Ltd | Otters | ||||
| Otters | ||||
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The otter has been given full legal protection throughout England and Wales from 1978, in Scotland from 1982 and in Northern Ireland from 1985. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Sections 9.1 and 9.4, Schedule 5) to kill, injure or take an otter from the wild without a licence; to damage or obstruct a holt (shelter); or disturb an otter in its resting place. Licences are required for checking holts or for carrying out work that may disturb otters, such as the management of trees that are known to be used as resting sites. English Nature (EN) and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) are responsible for issuing these licences in England and Wales respectively.
The otter is listed in the Bern Convention and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). It requires special protection measures under the European Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Its listing in Annex 2 requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for sites supporting important otter populations. Otter surveys are more limited by vegetation cover and weather than the seasons, especially when rivers are in flood, but generally can be carried out throughout the year. Click on another species profile below for more information:
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