Protected Otter Released for Hunting
Yet the shooting of otters offers little benefit to fish farmers. When an otter is removed from a territory, it usually does not take long before another otter moves in to occupy the vacated area.
Water marten cleared for shooting
The decision to release the otter for shooting has sparked a heated debate among the public.
In rural districts of the Upper Palatinate, but also in Lower Bavaria, the small water marten may now be killed by hobby hunters.
Environmentalists and nature lovers are outraged by this measure. They argue that the otter is a protected species and that hobby hunting of this animal sets a dangerous precedent.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe is appalled by this news and has announced in the media that it will take legal action against this approach. Sabrina Schulz of Deutsche Umwelthilfe describes the procedure as unlawful. The small otter, she argues, enjoys protection throughout Europe.
A fiasco for species protection
Instead of simply releasing the animal for shooting, fences or so-called diversion ponds could protect the waters. This would prevent the animals from entering lakes and ponds.
«We notice that this issue moves people. Otters belong to Bavaria just like the Alpine panorama and lederhosen. They are strictly protected — Markus Söder apparently missed the shot,» says Moritz Klose, wildlife expert at WWF Germany.
Applicable species protection law disregarded
Klose says: «With a blanket authorisation for the arbitrary removal of otters, the Bavarian state government is now putting this success at risk. It is also the first time that a state government has so openly overridden applicable species protection law.»
Link to the urgent appeal: Save the Bavarian otters! | WWF
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