Slow Down For Otters - UK Wild Otter Trust

Slow Down For Ottets (Medium Banner (US) (Landscape)) (3)

IOSFs World Otter Day is just days away and this year we are focusing on otter fatalities on UK roads, with our ‘Slow Down For Otters’ campaign.

Every year countless Eurasian otters lose their lives or are severely injured on UK roads. Roads have historically been built through otter’s and other wildlife’s habitats. Otters have very large territories of 20-30 km, which often forces them to cross roads, endangering their lives.

With our ‘Slow Down For Otters’ campaign we are asking drivers to be alert for otters, stick to the speed limit and ensure their speed matches the road and its surrounding area (including possible otter habitats). This will give drivers a better chance of spotting otters before hitting them.

Road fatalities often don’t only affect one otter, when a female is hit, she may be leaving behind cubs that depend on her for survival. At the UK Wild Otter Trust, we have already rescued cubs this year that were found near a deceased female on a road.

As part of our campaign we have designed ‘Slow Down For Otters’ car stickers, that can be purchased from our online shop –

Click here to buy our 'Slow Down For Otters' Car Sticker

Slow down for otters

UKWOT founder Dave said, “We want to draw attention to otters running across the roads primarily. We find that there’s lots of cubs separated and we’ve had quite a few recently where we know that the mother has been killed, after we found the cubs. It’s just about raising awareness about otters and other wildlife being killed and injured on roads. Whilst we have a slow down for otters car sticker, we find that the scientific end of it pretty much states that an otter is likely to be killed even at 30 mph. Generally when they run across the road they are hit on the head or head area and obviously that can be fatal. Even a clip at 20/30 mph, is still enough to kill an otter if you’re unlucky enough to hit it. So it’s really a case of being more aware that there’s otters around, being aware of the habitat you’re driving through, particularly along or across rivers. As well as, various habitats where you know otters are, just to be aware of your surroundings. Be aware that it’s not just otters, but other wildlife also, such as deer. Be aware and take note of road signs, there’s a few around the UK, that’s warning people of otters.”

Thank you to friend of UKWOT Graham William Hughes for sharing this amazing photo with us.