A charity has put out an appeal after two otters were abandoned on the side of a Shropshire road.

Staff at Caun Wildlife Rescue are urgently appealing for information from the public to help piece together how two small otter cubs ended up in a box abandoned close to Sleap Airfield, near Wem.

The two cubs were found on Wednesday (October 9) and the charity were subsequently contacted by the member of the public who found them.

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Acting quickly, representatives from the wildlife centre were able to collect the cubs, and contact specialist otter rehabilitation charity UK Wild Otter Trust for additional assistance.

Dave Webb, Founder of the UK Wild Otter Trust is appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to contact him.

“Although we’ve unfortunately been called out to some strange and upsetting circumstances in the past, this feels like a new low,” said Mr Webb.

“How can anyone leave any animal in a box on the side of the road? And what were the circumstances which led two young wild animals to be in this situation?

“This seems to be a planned act of unprecedented cruelty and we will do everything we can to bring the people responsible for this act to justice.”

The otters are now recovering from their ordealThe otters are now recovering from their ordeal (Image: Caun Wildlife Trust)

Mr Webb added that although no further details are known at this stage, he thought it was “clear that someone knows the circumstances” that led to these cubs being discarded.

“Whoever did this could have easily taken them to a rescue and not dumped them on a busy road,” said Mr Webb.

“We of course want to thank the staff at Caun Wildlife Trust and the person who alerted them to the otters and ultimately saved their lives.”

Otters are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. It is an offence to wilfully kill, injure, capture, or disturb wild otters.

“I am fully aware that there are some people out there that are capable of immense cruelty towards animals,” said Mr Webb. “To do this to any animal is unacceptable, cowardly, and illegal.

“We sincerely hope that someone has information on this or even has CCTV footage from the area that can be passed to the Wildlife Crime Officers investigating this rural crime.”

The two small otter cubs are now safely under the care of Dave and his team of volunteers at the UK Wild Otter Trust’s site in North Devon and are resting and recovering from the stress of their ordeal and will be released back into the wild when they’re old enough.

The UK Wild Otter Trust is offering a substantial reward for any information leading to the prosecution of the person or persons involved in this case. If you have any information about this incident please contact Dave Webb at the UK Wild Otter Trust: otters@ukwot.org or 07866 462820.