Appeal made after otter cubs found dumped on busy Shropshire roadside
A charity is urgently appealing for information from the public to help piece together how two small otter cubs ended up in a box abandoned by the side of a busy road in Shropshire.
On Wednesday 9th October, staff at Caun Wildlife Rescue were contacted by a member of the public to alert them about the abandoned cubs, found close to Sleap Airfield. Acting quickly, representatives from the wildlife centre were able to collect the cubs, and contact specialist otter rehabilitation charity UK Wild Otter Trust for additional assistance.
Dave Webb, Founder of the UK Wild Otter Trust, based in Devon, is appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to contact him: “Although we’ve unfortunately been called out to some strange and upsetting circumstances in the past, this feels like a new low. How can anyone leave any animal in a box on the side of the road? And what were the circumstances which led two young wild animals to be in this situation? This seems to be a planned act of unprecedented cruelty and we will do everything we can to bring the people responsible for this act to justice.”
Dave says that although no further details are known at this stage, it’s clear that someone knows the circumstances that led to these cubs being discarded: ”Whoever did this could have easily taken them to a rescue and not dumped them on a busy road. If anyone knows anything about this incident - however inconsequential it may seem - please email us at otters@ukwot.org or call us on 07866 462820 in complete confidence.”
Otters are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. It is an offence to wilfully kill, injure, capture, or disturb wild otters.
Dave, who founded the charity in 1998, and devotes his life to rescuing and rehabilitating Eurasian otters continued: “I am fully aware that there are some people out there that are capable of immense cruelty towards animals. To do this to any animal is unacceptable, cowardly, and illegal. We sincerely hope that someone has information on this or even has CCTV footage from the area that can be passed to the Wildlife Crime Officers investigating this rural crime.”
The two small otter cubs are now safely under the care of Dave and his team of volunteers at the UK Wild Otter Trust’s site in North Devon and are resting and recovering from the stress of their ordeal and will be released back into the wild when they’re old enough.
Dave added: “We of course want to thank the staff at Caun Wildlife Trust and the person who alerted them to the otters and ultimately saved their lives.”
The UK Wild Otter Trust is offering a substantial reward for any information leading to the prosecution of the person or persons involved in this case. If you have any information about this incident please contact Dave Webb at the UK Wild Otter Trust: otters@ukwot.org or 07866 462820.
