Dog is crowned animal of the year for hunting ‘sea vomit’ – but what is it?

Sgiath has been given the honour this year (Picture: Dr Texa Sim)

A Scottish Labrador has been named ‘animal of the year’ for hunting down an invasive species of marine creature.

Sgiath, a black Labrador from the Scottish Highlands, has been trained to hunt down ‘sea vomit’, a nickname for carpet sea squirts.

The ‘sea vomit’ can smother and kill native species in the region if left uncontrolled.

Marine ecologist Dr Texa Sim, Sgiath’s owner, began training her pup to sniff out the invasive creature.

‘No one had really explored whether dogs could help tackle this problem in the marine e...