Mink Face Cull To Save Ratty From Wipe-out

[peter hayes]

This headline was above a story reporting that Ministers are considering sanctioning the slaughter of tens of thousands of American mink to save the water vole, which was immortalised in The Wind In The Willows.

The mink's voracious appetite has driven Ratty from 90% of his former territory. The vole population has plunged from nine million 20 years ago to just 800,000 now. The mammal is heading towards extinction.

Mink culls are already being tried out (or are planned) in 10 locations, including North Yorkshire, Norfolk, Wiltshire and the Somerset Levels.

These trials have triggered an instant and remarkable recovery in vole numbers. On one stretch of the River Hull in East Yorkshire, the culling of just two mink on a three kilometre stretch led to a 50% rise in the local water vole population.

Government money is needed if a nationwide cull is to go ahead: £3 million over the next ten years and £10 million for a 50 year programme. It's a huge task: there are thought to be 100,000 wild American mink in the UK. They established themselves by escaping from fur farms (now banned) after being introduced around 1930 by the fur trade.

So, where do you stand on this? You can now vote in our poll.

[alan_rymer]

Mink are just about the most destructive creature on these islands!. They have no natural predators ( exept perhaps otters ).
They will kill anything they come across.
I'll help eradicate them if I can!.

Alan

[simontucker]

I 100% support the eradication of mink in the UK. Beautiful creatures they might be - but a real issue when they have no natural predator but the uncommon otter.

My favourite sighting of them was outside Dinton Pastures near Reading on the River Loddon: there were ten of them moving along the bank - beautiful sinuous movement, obviously playing together and totally unperturbed by the two humans that they were running around.

Watch out for the hunt fraternity trying to pass off their inhumane approach to animal control as a necessary mechanism for mink extermination.

[Richard Ford]

All the members of this Family (is it mustalids?) are wonderful animals and in most cases efficient at killing thier prey. Its only due to the greed of mankind, that these animals were even “farmed” for us humans to “wear” as fur, that they are here at all.

The Mink is a Beautiful animal and a very efficient predator, because of that it now has to “controlled” to save our native species. I really feel for this stunning animal, which itself has done nothing wrong, the fault as usual is entirely with us Humans.

Rich

[Booga]

I'm all for it. The mink also prey on the food that the otters need, and as if their numbers are not enough already, they certainly will not grow at any significant rate if their foodsource is purged by Mink.

Also, on a side-note, I'll never forget seeing the footage of a mink taking a Kingfisher on a wildlife programme. I know it's natural for mink to hunt, but for them to hunt over here it isn't.

[Alastair Rae]

Originally posted by redwing
The Mink is a Beautiful animal and a very efficient predator, because of that it now has to “controlled” to save our native species. I really feel for this stunning animal, which itself has done nothing wrong, the fault as usual is entirely with us Humans.
Rich
I think you mean, the fault is entirely with animal activists, who are responsible for most releases of mink into the wild.

[Booga]

Originally posted by Alastair Rae
I think you mean, the fault is entirely with animal activists, who are responsible for most releases of mink into the wild.

The naive actions of the activists you refer to are certainly the cause of much of the mink activity in this country. However Rich made an extremely valid point, in that ultimately, the greed and vanity of the human race caused them to be farmed in the first place. Hence the blame being with Humans, and not just the activists.

[Richard Ford]

Agreed Alastair, that action is pretty stupid, and shows little consideration or knowledge of animals.

As far as I’m concerned they should never have been here in the first place, however you look at it its all the fault of humans, be it Fur traders/Mink farmers, the people who buy/bought fur coats, or animal activists.

Rich

[alan_rymer]

Oh come on , Pulease. Enough with the hair shirt!.
As the top predator, arguably most intelligent creature on this planet, everything that goes wrong is our fault. Our ancestors hunted out wolves, bears, Gt Bustard from these Isles. Its probably our fault that there are no reptiles in Island either!.
Lets undo the industrial revolution that fuelled the demand for many things and allowed towns and cities, and our populations to grow. Without that we wold mostly make our living off the land!. We would kill anything we could eat, kill anything that endangered our food source be it rabbits or Wolves.
The people who lived in the past didn't know any better. And if they did its human nature to try to do better than our neighbour!. If you didn't, the cold, or plague or stavation killed you!

Grow up!. Yesterday is gone. Correct what you can now!. Plan to correct other things that may be possible soon to correct. And what you can't , forget!. And try to do no harm!.

Strive to do your best. No recriminations except as a learning process or you'll end up as a bitter shell!.

Whew. Got that off my chest along with the itchy shirt!.

Alan

[simontucker]

It is good to reminisce sometimes - I can remember when you could spit on someone wearing a fur coat and be applauded not arrested.

It is important to make the connection between the well-meaning but ignorant actions of the animal activists from the cuddly furry sweety things tendency (ALF = Animals are Lovable and Fluffy) who know nothing about wildlife and who are largely responsible for the presence of mink in our countryside; the actions of those farmers who will abuse any animal for profit and set up the fur farms in the first place; and the actions of those vile beasts that will buy their produce - because they are all still doing it and it needs to be stopped.

Fur farms might be dead in this country but it is still a very real issue in Europe. Just look at how many designers are using fur in their collections at the moment.

[Richard Ford]

Hmmm…

The only point i was making was that: yes the mink should be controlled, and however you look at it, it’s all our (Humans) fault in the first place. (Fullstop)

Rich

[birdman]

I voted yes - with all the pangs of guilt that my vote carries as baggage...

But doesn't anyone else find it a little strange that (as I write) the voting is 8 to 0 to 0 in favour of the cull, and yet elsewhere on the Forum, we've managed to get our knickers in a bit of a twist over the Ruddy Duck propsed cull?

I'm not intending to be critical of anyone, but to me the argument in favour of the cull of both species, is the same.

They are non-endangered, non-European species that are out of place, and in danger of wiping out species indigenous to Europe.

I do wish there was a better way - but I'm not sure what it might be.

And of course it is only the fault of we Humans - whether Animal Activists or Wildfowl Collectors or whatever. But I think we should think of the "Big Picture" and try to redress the balance wherever possible, as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to put right.

So yes, as much as I hate myself for saying it, we should cull the mink and the ruddy ducks.

[winkle]

Just a couple of points.

Mink cannot compete with Otter not the other way around. The permanent solution would be Otter; one was recorded recently killing a Mink.

There are no reptiles in Ireland 'cos the Irish Sea formed before any made it there after the last Ice Age.

[simontucker]

Wot!!!!! you mean it has nothing to do with Saint Patrick?

[Andrew]

I am getting my Blunderbust out! They often kill for the sake of it and leave the majority of their kill uneaten.

[alan_rymer]

Hmmm
I have just been rereading what I have written in my 2nd posting on this subject. My posting was rather heavy, and I was doing what I have previously accused someone else of doing ( terminating a thread ).
Apologise to anyone who took offence or took it personally.

The first sentence of this post does not look right!. But it means what I feel!. .

[Booga]

Winkle, my point was, Yes otters will kill mink. But there otters are too few for this to be regarded as a way of cutting down on the numbers of mink. My other point being, the mink prey on the same food as otters, more mink eating = less food - less food = fewer otters - fewer otters = less predators of mink.

[Nina P]

I also am in favor of culling, or even eradicating this voracious killer and have seen them along the banks of the river Avon, destroying the nesting sites of bird and beasts. If they only killed for necessity then it wouldn't be so bad but they kill,kill,kill until they have wiped out all the creatures, within their area then move on and do the same, in the next strech of water, hence kill two and the river bank may recover, fail to kill them and eventually nothing will be left to save, I know that in one night one mink killed 2,000 birds, and that was within 5 hours, and left each one without its head, that was all it ate. Hearby I rest the case eradicate the mink.