Bemused police officers have launched their ‘strangest ever’ appeal after a crocodile was found dumped in a village canal.
Officers were called to the Trent and Mersey Canal after the large reptile was spotted near to Mercia Marina, in Willington, Derbyshire, yesterday.
However when they arrived the crocodile was nowhere to be seen prompting Derbyshire Rural Crime Team to launch an investigation.
The force took to social media to issue ‘probably the strangest appeal ever to grace our Facebook page’ alongside a picture of the animal.
They posted: ‘We know this is probably the strangest appeal ever to grace our Facebook page, however, we are appealing for your help in relation to a suspected crocodile that was reported dumped in South Derbyshire.
‘Yes, you read that correctly, a crocodile!
‘The crocodile was allegedly sighted between bridge 22 and 22a on the Trent and Mersey Canal, nearby to Mercia Marina, Willington sometime over the last 24-48 hours.
‘The report was sent to the Canal and River Trust however, on their arrival, the crocodile was no longer present.’
The force shared an image of the crocodile, which was deceased and is believed to have been a dumped exotic pet.
The force added: ‘We’re going to go out on a limb and guess this little guy isn’t native to Derbyshire and as such, if you can offer any information about the crocodiles whereabouts now, or, have knowledge of how it ended up at that site, please drop us a direct message or email us at DRCT@derbyshire.police.uk
‘For clarification, although we cannot claim to be medical professionals, we are acutely aware the crocodile is deceased’.
Baffled locals reacted with shock after the force posted the bizarre appeal yesterday afternoon.
One person said: ‘Well, that’ll make paddleboarding that section more interesting.’
Another quipped: ‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..’
A third added: ‘Glad we didn’t see that walking the dog.’
Others reasoned that the crocodile owner would have needed a special licence – or else the reptile may have been obtained through the illegal pet trade.
They wrote: ‘To own one of these you need a Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) licence… maybe check people with these registered DWA licences that are local to the location… no one can have that as a pet illegally without anyone knowing surely, they’re dangerous for a reason.’
Another agreed: ‘Probably was an illegal exotic pet that someone got fed up with.’
One commented: ‘I just hope there isn’t any more that are still alive.’
And one sympathetic person said: ‘What a terrible shame someone has dumped that. Irresponsible owners.’
