“Luckily, the fishing hook had fallen out of its mouth otherwise I would had somehow had to remove it myself.”
The fish was subsequently identified as a red-bellied piranha, a South American species whose diet mainly includes fish, insects and worms.
Ben Weir, a fishery scientist with Angler’s Mail magazine who had previously kept piranhas, said the identification was unmistakable.
“I used to keep them and they would sharpen their teeth on the glass of the tank, so I know one when I see one,” Weir said.
Why experts suspect an owner released the piranha
The Environment Agency said the most likely explanation was that the piranha had been kept domestically before being released after growing too large for its aquarium.
That theory was supported by an account from the local angling club. Its chairman, Paul Foot, said a club member had seen somebody emptying a container into the pond during the week before the fish was caught.
“Our pond gets dumped full of goldfish and the odd koi carp because people cannot afford to keep them,” Foot said. “It’s unusual that this fish survived because the weather has been so cold.”
Weir described the apparent release as “extremely irresponsible”, pointing to the piranha’s position near the top of its natural food chain.
“They are a top-end predator. I’m extremely shocked that this has happened,” he said.
Piranhas are unlikely to survive British winters
There are more than 20 species of piranha. Most grow to between 20cm and 30cm, although specimens measuring as much as 60cm have been recorded.
The fish have a fearsome reputation and can feed collectively on large animal carcasses, including those of cows and horses. Their ordinary diet, however, is less cinematic and largely consists of fish, insects and other small prey.
Experts said piranhas could not survive in British waters over the long term, particularly during cold weather. The immediate prospect of a thriving Kent population was therefore remote.
Survival is not the only concern. Introducing any non-native animal into a waterway can damage local ecosystems, spread disease or place native species under pressure before the released creature eventually dies.
The Folkestone catch was not Britain’s first
The Radnor Park discovery was not an isolated example. In August 2009, another piranha believed to have been a released pet was found in the River Torridge in Devon.
Such cases leave environmental authorities dealing with animals that should never have entered public waters, while the pets themselves face conditions they are poorly equipped to survive.
The Environment Agency urged owners to seek advice when they can no longer care for exotic animals instead of releasing them into the wild. Folkestone’s piranha may have provided one fisherman with an extraordinary story, but its appearance in a cold park pond was chiefly evidence of somebody else’s very poor decision.
