River plague prompts warning to dog walkers

DOG walkers have been told by the Environment Agency to keep their pets away from streams as they are spreading a deadly crayfish plague.

The Environment Agency issued the warning after white-clawed crayfish were found dead in two brooks.

The endangered and native crustaceans died in the Cinderford and Soudley brooks in Gloucestershire.

Chris Bainger, a fisheries technical specialist at the Environment Agency, said: “We’ve had a few outbreaks over the years but this is the first in that specific area.”

The plague is transferred through the water and was brought into the UK by the American signal crayfish.

Although it is not fatal to the invasive species, humans or animals, it has killed white-clawed crayfish to the point where they are now an endangered species.

“The whole of the Forest of Dean is at risk because on a day you might trudge through the Soudley Brook and before you know it you’re in another watercourse quite quickly,” Mr Bainger warned.

“You might still have dirty boots or your dog’s been having a run in that stream. It’s important to think about that bigger scale.”

The Wildlife Trust lists the species as the UK’S only native freshwater crayfish.

The white-clawed crayfish inhabits small freshwater streams of a depth less than one metre, hiding underneath stones and rocks and in small crevices where they forage for food.