The owner of a popular fishing lake has told how his business has been left devastated by a ravenous seal which so far has chomped its way through £3,000 worth of his stock. Frustrated Nick North has been forced to shut his business to anglers for three weeks after the hungry seal moved in and started snacking on dozens of carp, bream and catfish.
The mammal has so far evaded all two attempts to capture it and is also believed to be snacking on the local duck population. The RSPCA, Essex Rural Police and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) have all been involved in attempts to capture the animal.
The grey seal, aged around one, was first spotted on December 6 swimming up the River Roach in Essex having likely come from the sea nine miles away. It was then spotted in the frozen Marks Hall Fisheries lake in Rochford Reservoir, Essex, on Dec 12 and has been there ever since.
