With immediate effect, all meat and meat-based products have been banned from angling use at Mallory Park Fisheries, Leicestershire. The ban includes luncheon meat, cat food and dog meat, and it applies to competitions, matches and corporate events at all 12 lakes at Mallory Park Lakes and at The Glebe.
Venue owner Roy Marlow explained:
“We had a two-tin limit on meat that was proving impossible to monitor and enforce properly, so I’ve taken the decision to prohibit it totally. We all know that meat is detrimental to fish welfare, and throwing it into the water in any quantity is risky to fish survival. The scientific evidence is overwhelming, pointing to the fact that meat-based products rich in fats are bad for water quality and bad for fish.
“If you had a Koi pond the last thing you would do is to feed your fish on meat because within hours you would have serious problems with your filtration systems, resulting in possible fish deaths.”
Roy added:
“There is an enormous choice of excellent quality, fish-catching, environment-friendly baits available today. We have as superb fishery and I fully intend to keep it that way”.
Roy’s comments were backed by leading fisheries management consultant Dr Bruno Broughton., who has researched the impacts of different baits on fish.
“When used in moderation and as part of balanced diets, few baits are detrimental to fish. But when eaten in large quantities, oil-rich baits can lead to a number of undesirable ailments in fish. Specifically, they can damage their immune systems, leaving the fish vulnerable to bacterial and other potentially fatal infections that, normally, they would fight with ease.”
