Tin baths for twin otters
A METAL forging firm from the Midlands and a northern isles shipping company have come to the rescue of two otters in need of a new bath at a Shetland wildlife sanctuary.
The two otters Thea and Joey came into Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary as 10 day old cubs last September after their mother was killed by a car in the village of Vidlin.
Six months later they are strapping young otters living outside in a pen where they will stay until the late summer, when they will be old enough to be released back into the wild.
The problem is that the pair act as a team and between them managed to dig up and dislodge the bath which had been sunk in their pen, wrecking the plumbing in the process.
As a result the sanctuary has had to make do with plastic tubs and baby baths for them to swim in, which were fine when the otters were small but are far too lightweight for them now.
“We always used to use tin baths which are ideal for otters, but our old ones have all got holes in and new ones are very hard to find in this day and age,” said sanctuary owner Jan Bevington.
“But we went on the internet and came across Brettell Brothers in Stourbridge, who seem to be the only people in the country, and possibly the whole of Europe, who still make these baths. So we ordered two straight away.”
With encouragement from one of their Facebook followers, the sanctuary approached Lerwick-based Streamline Shipping Group who offered to transport the tin baths to Shetland from the Midlands for free.
Then due to a mix up at the Brettell Brothers factory, six tin baths were accidentally loaded onto the Streamline truck and were already in Aberdeen before anybody realised.
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“To our amazement, they decided to donate the other four to the sanctuary so we’re now awash with baths, which will keep us going for years,” Bevington said.
“Streamline and Brettell Brothers have been absolutely brilliant, and we can’t thank them enough.
“And Thea and Joey can now enjoy a proper bath that is big and strong enough to stand up to this tough little twin act.”
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