- Mink eradication successful trial
- Water voles, wildlife recovering
- Nationwide plan underway
The American Mink, one of Britain’s most infamous invasive species, may be eradicated shortly following a successful trial.
The American Mink is an unrelenting predator that has decimated wildlife, including toads, kingfishers, lapwings, amphibians, and sand martins.
However, water voles, the endearing model for Ratty in Wind in the Willows, have been hit especially hard by their sharp canines and claws.
The population of water voles has decreased by 96% since 1950, when the mink first started to thrive in its natural habitat.
American Mink can be found in most regions of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Now that a four-year initiative has effectively eradicated mink from East Anglia, preparations are underway to extend this initiative throughout the United Kingdom.
Waterlife Recovery Trust, the project’s driving force, predicts that the future of Britain’s 100,000-strong natural mink population may be bleak.
It would end the mink’s reign of terror over wildlife. This reign had lasted since its 1920s introduction to Britain when it was raised in fur farms for its chocolate-brown pelts but quickly escaped.
Mink Eradication: A Global Milestone
Animal rights activists’ 1970s releases are also believed to have contributed to the American mink’s population growth. These actions rendered previous attempts to control the species futile.
The Waterlife Recovery Trust reported that water voles and ducks were recovering. Nearly 6,000 km2 of East Anglia is free of American Mink.
According to the Trust, the mere magnitude of this trial “demonstrates that a mink-free Britain is now a realistic possibility and that American mink could potentially be eradicated from Europe as well, elevating this unprecedented trial to the international conservation stage.”
In 2019, the most recent effort to eradicate the creatures commenced.
A contingent of volunteers deployed 441 “intelligent” cage traps affixed to floating rafts, employing piquant odor lures to entice mink. They transmit an electronic signal to the volunteer when they capture an animal.
Afterward, the volunteer arrives. While other captured birds or animals are liberated, mink are fatally struck by an airgun pellet to the skull.
North Sea borders prevented mink from recolonizing Norfolk and Suffolk, making them ideal test sites.
The trial proved successful in October 2023 when the research team found no mink reproduction during the breeding season.
Currently, the WRT intends to implement this methodology throughout Britain.
Mink Eradication: Urgent Conservation
Chair of the Waterlife Recovery Trust, Professor Tony Martin, stated, “Up until now, eradicating American mink from Britain had seemed unattainable; however, the positive outcome of this trial provides optimism that a century-long period of irreparable harm to invaluable indigenous fauna may finally come to an end.”
“The eradication of mink is an urgent matter that must be completed in time to prevent the extinction of our remaining water voles and further damage to seabird colonies caused by avian influenza.”
“This is only the beginning; our committed volunteers, partners, and professional staff have collectively accomplished an internationally significant conservation objective.” Uniting the efforts and resources of all those concerned with flourishing waterside ecosystems and healthy waterways to resolve this issue permanently is the current challenge: implementing this work nationwide.
The unfortunate reality regarding mink in our rural areas is that something will perish annually, in perpetuity. Either a negligible number of introduced predators or millions of native species. We have the option, but doing nothing but sitting idly by condemns millions.
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Critical Juncture for Conservation
“At this moment, we are presented with a critical juncture to address an issue that has been bequeathed to us rather than merely ensuring that future generations inherit an even more degraded natural environment.” Nature possesses an extraordinary capacity for healing when given a second opportunity. We should give it a chance.
The charitable organization is extending the experimental area from the Thames to mid-Lincolnshire with £500,000 in funding from Natural England.
Natural England’s Principal Adviser: Species Conservation Strategies Pilots, Dr. Julie Hanna, stated, “Natural England is delighted to support Waterlife Recovery Trust in collaboration with partner organizations as we develop a pilot Species Conservation Strategy for water vole.”
“We are optimistic that the trial results will aid in recovering water vole populations and benefit other species that American Mink have impacted.”
