Below are detailed the various pieces of national and international legislation and regulations which offer very strict protection to both the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) and its habitat:

The otter’s inclusion in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive provides a strong basis for its protection throughout the EU. However, the designation of protected areas and strict protection from intentional harm for a species does not guarantee of course either the integrity of the habitat throughout the species range or the effective recovery of significantly reduced populations. In this respect two articles of the Directive are of note. Article 10 requires member states to encourage the management of landscape features of major importance, and gives as an example linear features essential for migration and dispersal such as rivers and their banks. Article 11 also requires Member States to undertake surveillance of the conservation status of habitats and species of community interest – in essence, all member states should be ensuring that they have comprehensive monitoring tools in place for the otter

International Conventions

Two conventions are of particular note with reference to otter conservation in a UK and European context. The UK is a signatory to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the Bern Convention) (1979). This Convention made provisions for the protection of species, and the otter is listed on Appendix II, species for which Article 6 requires special protection. In a European context the Habitats Directive effectively enshrines the provisions of the Bern Convention into European law, although for instance the UK had substantially implemented the convention in domestic legislation as early as 1981 (see below).

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and of wild flora and fauna (CITES) (1973) has been implemented throughout the EU through Regulations 3626/82 and 338/97. The otter is listed on Appendix One of CITES, for which trade is only allowed in ‘exceptional’ circumstances. No EC Member State has entered a reservation with respect to the otter, and therefore all should be taking strict measures to ensure adequate policing of compliance with CITES and the detection of any illegal wildlife trade in Lutra lutra.

UK LEGESLATION

The Wildlife and Countryside (W&C) Act 1981 is the primary wildlife conservation legislation in the UK (although Northern Ireland has its own legislation, see below). The Act superseded and considerably improved upon the provisions of the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act 1975, an amendment of which first gave the otter statutory protection in England and Wales in 1978. The W&C Act not only extended this protection to Scotland but also strengthened the protection for the species. The otter is listed on Schedule 5 of the W&C Act, which in accordance with the provisions of Part 1 Section 9 makes it an offence to kill, injure or attempt to kill or injure an otter, to damage or obstruct access to an otter’s place of shelter or intentionally disturb it while in occupation, or to be in possession of a live or dead otter or part thereof unless it can be demonstrated that it has been legally obtained. Schedule 6 restricts methods by which otters can be killed or taken, and the licensing for the taking or removal of otters (and other protected species) is allowed for in Section 16 (3) where it can be shown that they are causing serious damage. With respects to this last, it should be noted that licenses are very rarely issued, and the Habitats Directive effectively provides tighter provisions on the issuing of licenses with respect to the need to ensure that such licenses do not represent a threat to the integrity of the population.

The Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 implements the provisions of the W&C Act 1981 in Northern Ireland. The otter is listed again on Schedule 5, and Part II Article 10 is very similar to Part I Section 9 of the W&C Act in the protection it offers to listed species.

The Conservation Regulations 1994 transpose the obligations of the EC Habitats Directive into domestic UK legislation. The otter was already strictly protected in the UK by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and Section 39 (1) of the Conservation Regulations serves to reinforce Schedule 5 of the W&C Act. However, the Conservation Regulations also require the designation of Special Areas of Conservation for which the otter is either the primary or a significant feature. The system of site protection set up by the W&C Act – Sites of Special Scientific Interest or SSSIs - rarely were of sufficient scale to be designated with otters as a prime species of interest, nor has the SSSI system been particularly suited or intended for wide ranging, low-density terrestrial species such as the otter, until perhaps the more recent designation of a significant number of river and coastal SSSIs from the mid-1990s. The system of candidate SACs now proposed for the UK include a number of river systems and costal areas for which the otter is a primary reason for designation, as well as a number of other freshwater and coastal sites for which the otter is a secondary ‘qualifying feature’. All SACs must first be designated as SSSIs under the W&C Act before they can be formally proposed as SACs.

The Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 covers a number of activities affecting the environment and countryside. With relevance to the otter, it strengthens the powers of statutory nature conservation agencies in relation to SSSIs, overcoming some of the weaknesses in the W&C Act 1981, parts of which are replaced by updated provisions in the CROW Act.

Another significant aspect of the CROW Act was the quasi-statutory status it conferred on priority habitats and species listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, of which the otter is one. The Act requires the Secretary of State for the Environment and the National Assembly of Wales, and therefore all relevant statutory bodies coming under their jurisdiction, to promote action to further the conservation of these habitats and species. This requires that positive action be undertaken to conserve the otter, a priority BAP species, by all those statutory bodies with a remit for nature conservation.