Donal Hickey: Mink eradication pilot programme underway in the Midlands

American mink were first recorded in the wild, in Ireland, more than 60 years ago, and have spread countrywide since then. The current population is descended from animals which either escaped, or were released, from mink farms

The mink eradication programme is Ireland’s first large-scale attempt to remove the invasive American Mink (Neovison vison) from a designated area. Led collaboratively by the Breeding Waders EIP and the National Association of Regional Game Councils, and supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the programme aims to safeguard vulnerable ground-nesting birds and native wildlife by tackling one of their most significant predators.

A new plan to eradicate mink, regarded as one of the biggest threats to ground-nesting birds, will involve the use of trapping techniques already shown to be effective in Britain.

The pilot project will be based in the Midlands, covering a total area of 2,600 kilometres and stretching 20 kilometres in all directions from the shores of Lough Ree, on the Shannon.