I
Ian Cloke
Guest
RSPCA blunder puts deadly predator into crayfish haven
No doubt it seemed the right thing to do at the time. When an RSPCA officer stumbled across a live crayfish in a suburban drain, he took it to an internationally recognised crayfish reserve. In fact, it was the worst thing he could have done. The crayfish is a vicious, red-clawed American predator that has almost wiped out the smaller, gentler native species since it was introduced to Britain 35 years ago.
And the Ensors Pool reserve, in a former quarry near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, is home to an important population of the endangered indigenous white-clawed crayfish.
The RSPCA has admitted that the officer made "a serious mistake". The society could face prosecution under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.
The American invader, which has large claws and an "armour-plated" body, and can be up to 12 inches long, routinely takes over the habitat of the native species and steals its food. It also carries a deadly fungus to which the indigenous crayfish has no resistance.
The American crayfish was introduced into England and Wales in the 1970s and bred on commercially to supply shops and restaurants.
But many farmers went bankrupt in the 1980s economic recession and abandoned their crayfish. The crustaceans spread to rivers and ponds all over Britain, wreaking havoc among the native species.
The amphibious crayfish can travel for months searching for new freshwater sites to colonise. It can devour plants, small invertebrates and fish eggs and wreck habitats. Anglers complain that the crayfish eat their bait and burrow into riverbanks, eventually causing them to collapse.
When the RSPCA realised its error - after seeing a photograph of the crayfish taken before it was put into the reserve - officers tried to find the American interloper, but without success.
The Countryside Alliance said it would report the society to the police and urge them to prosecute under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. "Nobody should be above the law," a spokesman for the alliance said. "This was a stupid thing to do, endangering a protected and significant population of indigenous crayfish."
The 1981 Act makes it an offence to release any non-native animal to the wild in Britain without a licence. Offenders can be prosecuted and fined.
An RSPCA spokesman said the release of an American crayfish into an international reserve for native species was "a serious but honest mistake".
"We have not managed to find it yet," the spokesman added. "But it looks like there has been no damage done, though obviously we cannot predict what might happen in the future."
Jill Grieve
Press Office
Countryside Alliance
0207 840 9220
07775 938792
www.countryside-alliance.org
No doubt it seemed the right thing to do at the time. When an RSPCA officer stumbled across a live crayfish in a suburban drain, he took it to an internationally recognised crayfish reserve. In fact, it was the worst thing he could have done. The crayfish is a vicious, red-clawed American predator that has almost wiped out the smaller, gentler native species since it was introduced to Britain 35 years ago.
And the Ensors Pool reserve, in a former quarry near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, is home to an important population of the endangered indigenous white-clawed crayfish.
The RSPCA has admitted that the officer made "a serious mistake". The society could face prosecution under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.
The American invader, which has large claws and an "armour-plated" body, and can be up to 12 inches long, routinely takes over the habitat of the native species and steals its food. It also carries a deadly fungus to which the indigenous crayfish has no resistance.
The American crayfish was introduced into England and Wales in the 1970s and bred on commercially to supply shops and restaurants.
But many farmers went bankrupt in the 1980s economic recession and abandoned their crayfish. The crustaceans spread to rivers and ponds all over Britain, wreaking havoc among the native species.
The amphibious crayfish can travel for months searching for new freshwater sites to colonise. It can devour plants, small invertebrates and fish eggs and wreck habitats. Anglers complain that the crayfish eat their bait and burrow into riverbanks, eventually causing them to collapse.
When the RSPCA realised its error - after seeing a photograph of the crayfish taken before it was put into the reserve - officers tried to find the American interloper, but without success.
The Countryside Alliance said it would report the society to the police and urge them to prosecute under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. "Nobody should be above the law," a spokesman for the alliance said. "This was a stupid thing to do, endangering a protected and significant population of indigenous crayfish."
The 1981 Act makes it an offence to release any non-native animal to the wild in Britain without a licence. Offenders can be prosecuted and fined.
An RSPCA spokesman said the release of an American crayfish into an international reserve for native species was "a serious but honest mistake".
"We have not managed to find it yet," the spokesman added. "But it looks like there has been no damage done, though obviously we cannot predict what might happen in the future."
Jill Grieve
Press Office
Countryside Alliance
0207 840 9220
07775 938792
www.countryside-alliance.org
