An investigation is under way to try and establish how 200 fish died during maintenance to a duck pond in a Manchester park.
The Environment Agency (EA) and the RSPCA were called to Stamford Park in Altrincham on Thursday last week, following calls that fish were in distress.
The duck pond at the park is stocked with hundreds of fish including Koi. It was being cleaned by contractors, with repairs also being made to collapsing walls. It's the first time any cleaning has been carried out on the Victorian pond for around 40 years, according to a report by Manchester Evening News.
It's thought that the fish died during the operation through a lack of oxygen.
A spokesman for Trafford council said that as while restoration work to stabilise the banks was being undertaken, the pond had been dammed.
During this process there were found to be far more fish in the pond than expected. It's thought that Koi owners may have been dumping their unwanted fish in the pond illegally.
The council says it is working with animal welfare groups and the EA to stabilise oxygen levels in the pond and to ensure the condition of the fish is satisfactory. Once conditions have improved it says the fish will be removed from the pond by a fisheries contractor.
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