Otter Captured After Entering Garden Centre in Daylight
Veterinary professionals were called to assist in capturing an otter that entered a garden centre in the south of Scotland during the day. The incident took place at Matt Williamson and Son in Closeburn, north of Dumfries, on Monday around lunchtime.
CCTV footage captured the moment the otter entered the premises without being noticed.
The animal concealed itself under a shelf and remained locked inside overnight. The following morning, it was observed consuming some dog food and bird seed before causing some disruption by knocking over stock within the store.
The garden centre was only opened at 09:00 on Tuesday, at which point staff discovered the otter and proceeded to capture it using a fishing net. The otter was then safely returned to a nearby burn.
Details from Garden Centre Staff
Craig Williamson, representing the garden centre, informed BBC Scotland News that the CCTV footage showed the otter entering the premises at approximately 12:30 on Monday. He described the animal's behaviour as a "sniff and a wander."
"It then headed to the top corner of the premises - probably to sleep - concealed under a shelf until the following day."
He added that the otter reappeared at six in the morning to explore and have breakfast, which included dog food and bird seed.
"It was discovered when the shop was opened at nine o'clock."
Initially, the staff did not realize what had caused the disorder within the store.
"Firstly we thought one of the villages cats had been locked in as there was stock lying on the floor,"
Craig explained. He recounted that while restocking shelves, the otter's head suddenly appeared.
"By this time we had customers coming in and had to explain they couldn't come in as there was an otter in the shop."
Veterinary Assistance and Capture
At that point, the garden centre contacted Nithsdale Vets, who dispatched three team members to assist with safely returning the otter to the wild.
Craig described the capture process:
"It was a challenging beast to contain as it outsmarted us when trying to contain it into a smaller space to capture it."
"After a good 20 minutes it was caught by a fishing net.
The vets then took him away to be released at a burn not too far away."
Nithsdale Vets shared details of the unusual capture operation on Facebook, noting that it demonstrated the unpredictable nature of veterinary practice.
Otters in Scotland
Scotland hosts a significant portion of the United Kingdom's otter population. These animals are distributed across the country but are most prevalent along the western coast and on islands.
Otters are a protected species under law. It is illegal to deliberately or recklessly harass, capture, injure, or kill them. Additionally, it is an offence to disturb, damage, or destroy their breeding sites or resting places, or to obstruct their access, regardless of whether an otter is present.
