Such A shame

It most certainly was not one

 

We have a cat flap in our back door and our three cats can come and go as they please day or night.If they need to go outside to do their toilet duties during the night then it is easier to have the means to let them go out,than have them wailing or scratching at the door whilst crossing their legs In the summer months WHEN the nights are hot our Poppy will spend the whole night outdoors sleeping under a bush and the stars

I can only assume it was an Otter because only parts of the fish were eaten whereas if it was a large bird it would have eaten the fish whole with no wastage.I don't think it could have been cats either as they don't like swimming and i can't see that many fish coming to the surface to be hooked out by the cats claws plus some of the fish would have been too heavy to lift out of the pond

 

I agree, based on the journalists description, but my scepticism, quite possibly mis-guided and based on no evidence at all, is from the description that the neighbour cleared up all the mess before the couple returned from holiday. So the description may not fit the actual facts at all ... there being no actual evidence when the couple returned. Neighbour might have turned the pump off by mistake ... or left the filter backwash on ... all sorts of other possible assumptions spring to mind. They are just assumptions mind ... I'm just sceptical that the newspaper article portrays the actual truth, this sort of reporting is so frequently grossly distorted.

I read in one report that the pond was not near a river (that may be tosh too of course ...) but if so then unlikely an Otter tracked inland away from its water course I think?