Rescued native crayfish given new lease of life in Devon conservation reintroduction - Devon Wildlife Trust

Release of 80 white-clawed crayfish into protected Devon Wildlife Trust reserve establishes a new secure population for Britain's only native freshwater crayfish.

Leading British wildlife conservation charity Wildwood Trust has released 70 endangered white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) into a protected Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserve, creating a secure population of Britain's only native freshwater crayfish as part of urgent efforts to prevent the species' extinction in the South West.

The release is part of Wildwood Trust's Saving Devon's Native Crayfish project, delivered in partnership with Devon Wildlife Trust and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It follows more than a year of habitat assessments and preparation work, including surveys to assess the suitability of the stream, monitoring to confirm the absence of invasive American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), and biosecurity checks to ensure the site could support a thriving new population.

The crayfish originate from the River Creedy-Yeo, one of only two river systems in Devon where native white-clawed crayfish still survive. Surveys indicate that just a tiny remnant of the original population remains, while invasive American signal crayfish are present within the wider catchment.