Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Tuesday, 31 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 February 2012. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Monday, 6 February 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Otters

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the size of the otter population in the last 30 years.

Answer: It is currently not possible to estimate otter abundance from the quantity and distribution of otter signs and sightings. Research investigating the possibility of assessing numbers of otters from DNA or chemical analysis of spraint (otter faeces) is ongoing.Four national otter surveys have been carried out in England in the last 30 years—in 1984-86, 1991-94, 2000-02 and 2009-10. Direct comparison of the 2,940 sites used in all four of these surveys reveals that the number of sites showing signs of otters has increased from 10% in 1984-86 to 23.4% in 1991-94, 36.3% in 2000-02, and again to 58.8% in 2009-10. Since the publication of the last report, otter signs in Kent have confirmed that the species is now present throughout England. This demonstrates the slow but gradual recovery of otter populations over this period, moving from west to east.

Secondary information