AN unsubstantiated claim published on a newspaper website has got the Angling Trust (AT) up-in-arms over the issue of otter control.
“Angling Trust calls for cull of otters eating too much fish” screams the headline of an article published on timesonline.co.uk earlier this month.
The AT was quick to deny the claim and published a disclaimer on their website the same day demanding a retraction by the newspaper. At the time of writing, it's still there.
The article totally fails to back up what the headline claims which makes for a prime example of shoddy journalism and puts the paper in decidedly dodgy legal territory. It seems the writer – Simon de Bruxelles – has used it as an inflammatory hook to pull in readers before completely failing to acknowledge it throughout the article.
The Times also ran a printed version of the story – 'Who ate all the fish. The Otter, say Anglers' Wednesday, February 3 p.19, though it is slightly shorter than the electronic one and doesn't use the libelous headline.
In both articles the mention of a cull is not associated with the AT but with fishery owners who, de Bruxelles claims, are: “pressing the Government to allow a cull to keep [otter] numbers to manageable levels.”
Comments that have been left by readers of the web version are wide-ranging in their support for and criticism of the subject.
They include posts from 'Mark Castro', who has worked on the thorny issue of otters in the past with Chris Burt of the Angling Trust, himself quoted in the articles. More significantly, 'Michael Heylin', chairman of the organisation has left a lengthy reply to the story and both writers make a point of denying the AT's support for a cull of otters as the Times wrongly suggested.
On a media platform of this nature it's impossible to confirm whether or not the posts were written by the people they claim to be. It could have been any internet imposter but they toe the line already drawn by the AT.
Comments from unconfirmed sources floating in the realms of cyberspace isn't really the defining action I expect angling's governing body to take on the issue that is dominating the news pages of the angling press, and has now breached the pages of the national press.
If the AT is seriously concerned with what's been written – and it looks like there could be a case for libel – it needs to alert the Press Complaints Commission. It should be issuing an explanatory release to the angling press through which to convey its message to its members and it should have a thorough explanation on its website, not just a small panel displaying a few words alluding to the subject that can't be clicked on to access further information.
I'm yet to see any evidence of this happening and quite frankly, the matter isn't being handled in the professional manner that it and the sport of angling needs from its governing body.
Click here to read the article at timesonline and see the post below for my opinions on the subject.
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