Otter Fishing - Bangladesh

March 1997
In the world's most crowded country, Bangladesh, it's hard to imagine there's any room for nature. But we discover a unique relationship between man and beast.

Crashing around in a log box, two otters in rope harnesses are desperate to get to their food. A fisherman lifts the lid and out they dive to munch on the fishtails scattered outside their wooden cage. Bengali fishermen use these otters to herd fish into their nets. Every year Bengali menfolk bid their families farewell and sail downstream to catch their fish. With a sharp smack on the bottom, the otters are dispatched into the water and told to swim for their keep! More often than not, they get caught up in the nets and incur verbal abuse from their masters. As crimson sunset falls, the fishermen cook by their fires and the otters curl up in the boxes and go to sleep.

Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

• Category

  News & Politics

[journeymanpictures]

If anyone can help translate this film into English please don't hesitate to contact Journeyman Pictures!

[Joy Cena]

The answer to the question 3:33 "How do you train the otters?" was "They learn from their parents, they get trained working alongside with their parents", and answer to "do you like otters?" was, "they are like our friends, we depend on them, if they do not help we won't be able to earn and feed ourselves"

[Otty Ottderp]

@ 4:05 why the fucked he smack the thing!?  D:<

[11happyhamster]

There is no cruelty here... He gives it a smack to the bum... Wtf parents do that to their children all the time... LOL!

[Steve Holmes]

Funny stuff. Reminds me when I was at the beach at Cox's Bazar, a guy with a trained monkey came around to put on a show for the kids but he kept wacking it with a stick until my Bangladeshi cousin-in-law told him off. The guy looked stunned that anyone would object.

[Shon D]

If I was there, I'd free the otters, whoop his ass, tie a rope around his neck and even if he got a fish or not he's spending the night in a cage. That piece of shit.

[xululx]

notice the ass-slap 4:05..

fucking priceless..