A campsite owner has been jailed for two months after he deliberately killed an otter that had become trapped in a net.

Stuart Karl John Jones, 54, of Chilthorne Domer, was sentenced after pleading guilty to deliberately killing a wild animal of a European protected species, namely a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), contrary to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

He also pleaded guilty to an offence of using a trap for the purpose of killing, taking or restraining a wild animal listed on Schedule 6 contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Jones, at the time of Lyons Gate Campsite and Fishery, was sentenced to two months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday (March 6).

Police Constable Claire Dinsdale, the Wildlife Crime Officer for Dorset Police who attended the site, said: “Jones denied the allegation of killing an otter on our arrival and consequently I spent time searching a large area of woodland adjacent to the lakes looking for the body of the animal.

“The cage trap used had no support and it is highly likely any otter entering the trap would have drowned. Otters have the highest level of protection under UK and European legislation and this is there for a reason”.

Source: Somerset Live

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