A trap placed at a good site in an area with little or no mink trapping history may catch ten mink in its first year of operation, five mink in year two and thereafter 0-2 mink annually. Mink are territorial, so they never occur in the densities of rats, and their numbers will be [...]
The best strategy is to spread your traps more-or-less evenly along the available waterway margin at first, and then be ready to perhaps move some of them after a few months as you learn about mink and other creatures on your patch. Some sites will prove to be productive, others less so. On wide [...]
Until now, mink trapping in Britain has always been open-ended, simply because new mink have been available to replace those caught on a particular river or lake system. This depressing situation is now changing, however. Coordinated, collaborative trapping on a landscape scale in eastern England has now been shown to remove mink entirely, so [...]
WRE is a nature conservation project. It’s aim is to protect native wildlife such as water voles, kingfishers and other waterbirds, fish, amphibians and large invertebrates from predation by American mink across a vast area of Eastern England. If the project achieves its objective of removing mink from this region, it is hoped that [...]
Although American mink control has been carried out in many parts of Britain, East Anglia has arguably the most comprehensive and well-established network of volunteers to carry out a regional trial on this scale. Also, the fact that the three large counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex are situated on what amounts to a [...]
Yes, American mink do travel large distances, especially along rivers, so it is likely that they currently enter this region from the West on a daily basis. If this movement is not stopped, mink would certainly persist and the project would fail. Fortunately, though, it is possible to catch mink as they travel along [...]
The American mink is a fearless, predatory mammal in the same family as stoats and otters. They are semi-aquatic, with partially webbed feet, and are normally found close to rivers, drainage ditches and lakes or in coastal habitats. Mink are typically about 50 – 60cm long and weigh 0.7 – 2 kg, with males [...]
Like so many animal and plant species that have been introduced to Britain by humans, mink have thrived here because, compared to home, they have fewer competitors, predators and diseases to keep their population in check. Also in their favour is that many native birds and mammals here have evolved in the absence of [...]
Thanks to the work of conservation volunteers and professionals in many parts of Britain, we now know that, yes, water voles and birds quickly rebound after mink have been removed. Getting rid of introduced, invasive animals like this is one of the best uses of conservation money, and the benefits are usually quickly apparent. [...]
Yes, we know this to be a realistic prospect because something similar has been done in mainland Scotland, and over an equally huge area. It would be a massive challenge, but could be achieved with a sound plan, adequate resources of money and time, and a can-do attitude. This would be community-based nature conservation [...]
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