POACHING & ILLEGAL TRADE

Information Source: Gomez et al., 2016. Illegal otter trade: an analysis of seizures in selected Asian countries (1980-2015).

According to a 2016 report by TRAFFIC (wildlife trade monitoring network), analysis of seizures from illegal otter trade concluded that poaching and trade posed a significant threat to the four otter species in Asia: Asian Small-clawed Otter, Eurasian Otter, Hairy-nosed Otter, and the Smooth-coated Otter.

In many parts of Asia, Smooth-coated Otters serves as a source of economic importance for humans. Along with other otter species, they are deliberately trapped for their fur, body parts and in certain instances, meat.

According to TRAFFIC, India is the hotspot for otter poaching, accounting for 53% of the 167 illegal otter trade seizures in Asia from 1980 to 2015, despite the national law of protecting the native Smooth-coated Otters. However, the number of recorded seizures only represent a fraction of the actual trade numbers, as annual seizure records are either absent or incomplete, coupled with the fact that otter trade is highly secretive, thus a large proportion of the illegal trade is undetected.

 

Fur

The most common reason for otter poaching is to obtain their fur. The illegal fur trade which occurs extensively in India, Nepal and Bangladesh predominantly cater to the demand for otter fur in China, where otter fur is being exported to. Otter pelts are manufactured into garments and adornments, such as fur coats and fur hats. For example, in Tibet, skins of Smooth-coated Otters are used in ceremonial dress. Besides China and Tibet, the sale of otter fur is also popular in Japan, South Korea and Russia. Due to their dense and durable properties, otter fur is valuable and highly sought after in the fur business. Indeed, as compared to live otters, carcasses or body parts, a large proportion of the seizures reported were otter pelts.

You Otter Know! Sea otters have the densest fur in the world. It ranges from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch.  Warm air trapped in a sea otter’s fur keeps them warm in chilly waters. Hence, the high demand for their fur to be made into clothing. The pelts of at least 15 otters are used in order to make one single fur garment.

Information Source: http://www.livescience.com/55090-otter-facts.html

 

Body Parts

Similar to fur, various body parts of otters are considered valuable materials, as they are believed to possess therapeutic effects. Thus, in many countries of Southeast Asia, India and China, they are used in traditional medicine. For instance, blood of the Smooth-coated Otter is used to treat epilepsy (Gomez et. al, 2016), and dried otter penis is said to enhance potency (Tucker, 2001). Fresh otter blood is either collected and bottled, or soaked and dried in a cloth, with the cloth being re-soaked into a glass of water when consuming it. Other medicinal uses include using otter skins to assist women during pregnancy and childbirth, and otter bile from gall bladders is made into pills to treat ophthalmopathy (e.g. blurred vision, hyposia, vertigo) (Wang, 2014).

 

Bushmeat

Not only in Asia, otters around the world have been hunted for their meat for many centuries. Even in the present day, certain nomadic tribes still eat otter flesh, exotic restaurants in Europe serve otter meat on their menu, and the African bushmeat trade involves otters. In Asia, otters are often hunted and sold on street markets as food.

Pet Trade

Additionally, Otters are progressively targeted for illegal pet trade, as the number of live otters seized has risen over the recent years. Among the four otter species in Asia, the Smooth-coated Otter and Small-clawed Otter are highly sought after as domesticated and exotic pets. The seizures reported that the live otters mostly originated from countries in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand.

According to TRAFFIC, live otter trades mainly occur in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. A report in 2014 from the International Otter Survival Fund revealed that in Indonesia, there were at least 800 owners of pet otters, and the sale of live otters in wildlife markets in Jakarta has become more widespread over the past few decades.

Besides serving as domesticated pets, another possible reason for the rise of otters’ popularity in the pet trade is perhaps due to animal display shows. With dozens of websites selling otters and other exotic animals, the illegal pet trade business is mainly internet-based, indicating at a growing online otter trade.

You Otter Know! Smooth-coated Otters can be trained by fishermen to herd fish into nets. Back in the older days, they are widely trained and employed by fishermen, with trained otters being highly valued. These otters are either captured from the wild or specially bred. Usually, a trio of otters are leashed onto individual harnesses, and they would surround and herd fish into the nets (Gudger, 1927).