Described as “very, very pungent”, English anglers say lion dung, retrieved from the London Zoo, is a very efficient deterrent against otters threatening their prize fish.
Otters disappeared from eastern and central England in the mid-50s, presumably run off by emerging pesticides. In the 90s, as river water quality improved, otter numbers began to bounce back.
The resurging otter population however imposes an increasing threat to both professional and recreational fisheries, particularly carp, which is often extremely valuable.
Under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, otters are protected and cannot be killed. Only “passive” defences can be used – and in the case of the Whitbourne Angling Club in Worcestershire, British ingenuity has come up with a spray where lion feces are the key ingredient.
According to The Independent, otters turned up 18 months ago at the fishery and began to eat some of the large carp, tench, perch and roach.
But once the lion dung spray was used, they “vanished overnight”, according to club secretary Ian Miller.