The Daily Telegraph (London)
The raw and beautiful landscape of the treeless Hebridean island of
North Uist is host to some of the country's most remarkable wildlife.
Thousands of people come each year just to see the bird
populations.
However, the local economy is now under threat from
that vicious invader—the mink. In the Western Isles, it attacks
terns and gulls, eating both eggs and chicks. Coot and little grebe are
no longer found and there is concern over the loss of corncrake—one
of Europe's rarest birds.
Its effects are so devastating that Britain's biggest eradication program, costing 1.65 million pounds (U.S. $2.5 million), is to begin later this month. And not before time, argue the locals: These ruthless killers are spreading. They have been wreaking havoc on the nearby islands of Harris and Lewis since the 1960s, escapees from the islands' fur farms.
Two years ago, mink were found to have swum across the Sound of Harris, island-hopping to North Uist before moving to Benbecula. They may even have reached South Uist.
The problem is not confined to Scotland. The English mink population is rapidly increasing, and will only be exacerbated by the release last week of about 100 mink from a fur farm, previously targeted by animal-rights activists, in the New Forest. In England, mink are responsible for the dramatic decline of several species, particularly water vole. One recent reintroduction of 12 voles at a top-secret wetland site came to grief when a single mink killed them all.
Mink Invasion Impacts Conservation, Tourism
Current estimates show there are 10,000 breeding females in the Western Isles, causing serious problems for several groups, spanning wildlife conservation, farmed and sporting fisheries, crofting and tourism.
A recent study on Harris and Lewis showed that crustaceans such as crabs form a large part of the mink's diet. They also take shallow-water fish such as blennies, gobies and butterfish—sometimes eels and trout or salmon up to ten inches (25 centimeters) in length.
George Macdonald, a local factor, reports that mink regularly prey on farmed salmon in cages and cause escapes by damaging nets. Wild sea trout and salmon are also taken in rivers and streams. "The potential damage from mink to the environment and tourism is enormous," he says.
There is now an urgent need to eradicate mink from the Uists and drastically reduce numbers in south Harris over the next five years. Brussels is providing half the cash for the Hebridean Mink Project, because so many local areas are protected under E.U. wildlife designations, while several groups have contributed the rest, with Scottish Natural Heritage putting in 443,000 pounds (U.S. $660,000).
Six trappers will work on North Uist and Benbecula, and a further four will trap mink in southern areas of Harris to prevent recolonization of the Uists. Kills should be high because young mink born in the summer are starting to move about. Rabbit and fish are used for bait and the mink are destroyed humanely. The fur is worthless because the animals are wild.
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