A WILDLIFE charity says litter is “killing our wildlife” as it prepares to capture an otter found with plastic around its neck.

The otter was seen with the plastic cable tie on its neck at Stour Meadows Nature Reserve in Blandford last Saturday.

Although wildlife spotters have said it doesn’t appear in distress, there are fears that the otter could drown if it the plastic gets caught on another object while it is swimming.

Photographer Paul Dibben, from Sherborne, spotted the otter as it came out the river.

He said: “When I saw it in the water I could see something sticking out of its back, then it came up on the bank and I saw it was a cable tie.

“It didn’t seem to affect it as it was happily fishing away. Obviously, the worry is if it gets caught on a branch or something like that.

“One of the chaps there reported it to the Otter Trust. People really need to be careful with what they are doing.”

The find has prompted the UK Wild Otter Trust, which is now monitoring the otter daily, to warn the public about the threat of discarded waste to wildlife.

Trust members are heading to the site this Sunday, when it is likely they will need to set up a humane trap to capture the otter and remove the plastic from its neck.

Dave Webb, of the UK Wild Otter Trust, said: “This won’t be an easy thing to do given the complex behaviour of the otter and of course the terrain there.

“Obviously, the worry is that it may dive and get hitched up on an underwater obstacle in which case it may drown.

“We have a local veterinary practice on standby in case we need medical attention for the otter.”

Mr Webb is urging members of the public to be careful with their waste and take it home to be disposed of properly.

He said: “The issue of discarded waste and in particular plastics cause huge problems for our wildlife. “We hope to raise awareness of this after this otter has been safely treated.

“Simple things like cutting plastic can holders into bits, recycling properly – disposed rubbish is killing our wildlife.”