Otters Blamed for Feasting on Couple's £10,000 Fish Collection

A Thetford couple's holiday ended in disaster after seeing that their fish collection worth £10,000 was consumed by an otter.

Alan and Linda Brown were holidaying with their daughter in New Zealand for a month when their prized fish collection was targeted by a hungry otter. On their return, they spotted 200 of their 250 koi carp and goldfish killed. They are now left with just 50 fish.

The Wildlife Trust suspects it to be an otter or a mink. The couple was contacted by their neighbor who informed them about the devastating event that occurred in their absence.

"People would come and bring their children to see all the fish and the wildlife. It was devastating for us because they were so beautiful and had been a part of our life for 25 years," Linda was quoted as saying in Dailymail. "We had a good fence around the pond, a net over the top, but there is no way you could stop an otter getting in. We will not see the same wildlife visiting our garden anymore."

According to Darren Tansley from The Wildlife Trusts, of late, otters have been expanding their territory due to flooding. Due to the reduction in pesticides, improvements in water quality and fish stocks, there has been a rise in the otter population, reports BBC.

The fish that survived the otter were removed from the pond and the couple plans to fill it in.