Scottish Wildlife Trust

The largest ever initiative to remove breeding American mink from north Scotland is now underway, it was announced today (12 May 2011).

Covering 20,000 km², from rural Tayside across Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Cairngorms and the Highlands, the Scottish Mink Initiative is a new partnership between Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS), Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the University of Aberdeen, and 16 other organisations.

Aiming to protect native wildlife, such as water voles, ground nesting birds and economically important populations of salmon and game birds, to help protect local economic stability for the benefit of local communities, the initiative signals a £920,000 investment in native wildlife conservation, thanks to support from Cairngorms National Park Authority, Highland, Moray, Rural Aberdeenshire and Rural Tayside LEADER 2003 - 2007 Programmes and SNH through the Species Action Framework.

Game keepers and river keepers have been trapping the beasts in these areas for years.
Additional support is more than welcome, and will greatly reduce their (the mink) numbers.
but im sorry, the brute is here too stay.
If we kept on trapping year on year for next decade, levels will probably remain constant.
However if we dont trap levels will increase exponentially.
Hope the funding is for more than the traditional one to five years that these projects normally receive.
Is another glaring mistake re introduction of extinct or non indigenous species.
Hope in ten years time we aint having to trap beavers due to damage to river systems!!
regards
bert

Great news, pesky things