Goldfish which have been introduced into ponds around Kent may wipe out the small fish and newts that live there, according to a report by Kent Online.
The 'killer goldfish', as the report describes them, are thought to have been released by owners who had become bored with them. They have bred so successfully in ponds around Hoads Wood, The Warren and Ashford's Green Corridor that there are now hundreds of them, some at quite a size, and they're causing a real problem for the native wildlife.
Ashford's area warden Ian Rickards, from the Kent Wildlife Trust, told Kent Online: "These ponds aren’t designed to have that number of predators swimming around and they’re eating the smaller fish and the Great crested newts. You won’t find any of them in that pond because the goldfish eat all the eggs."
Work is under way to try to and find a solution to the problem.