DATELINE: 23 April 2003

ANDRE EVADES DIVERS AND WINS FISHING PERMIT

Andre the grey seal was under threat of being shot by Scottish fishermen after gorging on salmon in River Leven near Loch Lomond. Divers from British Marine Life Rescue have been trying in vain to capture him.
Andre, however, appears to have won the local community around by his entertaining antics while evading capture. He playfully inspected the nets laid out to ensnare him before dodging skillfully beneath them. He removed the bait from a trap and swam triumphantly away to applause from the watching crowd. The concerned conservationists, worried about the threats to shoot the seal, tried everything they could to 'rescue' Andre from his salmon-rich paradise, but the 2m long grey seal was having none of it.
Now the fishermen have relented and Andre has been issued with his own fishing permit. "He's such a character," commented local fisherman Andy Dowler, "and he made proper fools out of those conservationists."