The recovery of otters in UK rivers following the ban on organochlorine pesticides is one of conservation's greatest successes, but otters face ongoing welfare challenges from fishing traps, road traffic, and water quality.
Otter recovery is a conservation success story with direct welfare dimensions - recovered populations experience less population-level stress from persecution and pesticide exposure. Individual otter welfare is primarily affected by road traffic casualties, fishing gear entanglement, and water quality. Wildlife-friendly bridges with ledges over rivers, otter guards on fyke nets, and ongoing water quality improvement are the most important ongoing welfare interventions for this species.