Report from Chris Smith
Mink cull sniffs out scented bait
By John Ross in the Scotsman 28 th January 2004
THEY came from the United States, and now help from Canada is being
sought to get rid of them.
A project to eradicate a population of mink from the Western Isles has
sent for a consignment of bait from Canada to meet demand.
Mink were introduced to the islands in the 1950s and 60s, in attempts
at commercial farming in Lewis. When that failed, the animals were
released or escaped and spread rapidly.
There are estimated to be 10,000 to 15,000 adult mink in the islands.
They have been blamed for killing poultry, affecting red grouse
numbers, damaging fish farms and threatening internationally important
birds.
The Hebridean Mink Project was set up with £1.65 million of European
funding just over two years ago to eradicate the non-native species
from the Uists and significantly reduce their numbers in the south of
Harris.
So far, 421 mink have been caught. The project has also set up a
number of studies to look at the ecology and habits of mink, and how
remaining animals react to eradication.
Trappers lure mink into the traps by using bait containing mink scent
glands. Previously this has come from animals caught by the project
but production has been unable to keep up with demand and additional
bait is having to be bought from Canada.
Dr Sugoto Roy, the project co-ordinator, said: "We use a variety of
different bait, which in the past has predominantly been fish, to
attract mink into the traps. It is inevitable using this method that
other animals with a taste for fish, for example, rats and ferrets,
will also find their way into the traps.
"The new consignment from Canada should enable us to further improve
the efficiency of the trapping effort by catching more mink and fewer
non- target species."
The project is planning a repeat of a concentrated trapping operation
in November. About 20 trappers and more than 500 traps are expected to
be deployed simultaneously in the spring rutting season on North Uist
and the islands in the Sound of Harris.
© The Scotsman, 28 th January 2004
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