Otter fencing

Looking for otter fencing?

Here’s our top recommendation…

Tornado RL23/240/5 C5

Otter fencing from Tornado Wire

Otter fencing is used to restrict otters from entering specific areas – usually lakes containing valuable fish upon which otters would naturally seek to prey.

We understand that protecting fish from predatory otters is vital to the commercial success of angling lakes; Tornado Wire’s High Tensile otter fencing protects the valuable investment of expensive stock.

Otter populations are currently at a 40-year high in the UK and they are continuing to rise across Europe. As welcome as this resurgence may be to our natural heritage, otters are a fearsome predator. An unwelcome consequence of their increasing numbers is their impact on fisheries. Otters often prey on larger fish specimens, eating as little as 10% of the flesh and causing hundreds of thousands of pounds of decimation to fish stocks in the process.

All managed still water fisheries and fish farms provide otters and other predators with an easy and abundant food supply.

Points to consider

Tornado Torus otter fencing

What challenges are there in keeping out otters?

To prevent otters from digging underneath fencing, at least 500mm should be buried in to the ground or turned out at ground level. Zinc and zinc aluminium coated agricultural fence service life can be affected significantly when exposed to extremely acidic or saline environments and this factor should be considered when designing your fence installation. For typical service life to be achieved it is recommended that the product must be installed in an atmosphere with corrosively class C1, C2 or C3 (very low/low/medium) in accordance with ISO 9223 and must not come into contact with substances that will accelerate corrosion, including but not limited to fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, salt water and soils of pH lower than 5.5. Particularly at sites with peaty and wet ground conditions it is recommended that you have the soil pH tested prior to designing your installation.

As otters are also adept at climbing, the top 500mm should also be cranked towards the outside. Otters can squeeze through surprisingly small gaps. With a mesh of 100mm x 50mm, Tornado otter fence is a proven barrier.