16/08/2026
Such a sad state of affairs. This is a real lesson not to put pets in wild spaces. Thank you to those that saved the fish, we hoped they are looked after.
Wildlife experts have warned people not to dump unwanted fish in local ponds after hundreds of suffocating goldfish, carp and other species were rescued from a hot mud-caked pool near Exeter 💔
Volunteers turned out to rescue the floundering fish from the shallow water of the pool at Poltimore.
The summer’s heatwave and drought have left the pond dangerously short of water, and while some of the fish were rescued, many others were found dead around the parched edges of the pool 😔
It is believed that much of the fish population of the pool has come from people dumping unwanted pet fish in the water. Those fish have bred, leading to a pond that is teeming with shoals of colourful fish including mirror carp and ghost carp.
Among the volunteer rescuers was Exeter city councillor Alison Sheridan (Reform, St Loyes), who said: “There were dead fish all around the perimeter, and those fish that were in the water were gasping for breath. They were caked in mud and it was incredibly hot.”
Rescuers called the Environment Agency, saying the incident was a ‘wildlife emergency’, but no official action was taken.
