Mink are public enemy number one

THE United States is in the doghouse just now; its addiction to guns is wreaking havoc at home and abroad.

But the export of violence is not confined to armies and weapons; the wild creatures of the New World can be just as destructive. BirdWatch Ireland is worried about the activities of one of them — the American mink is public enemy No 1.

Almost 100 years ago, an American grass, or rather a hybrid of several grasses, took root in our estuaries and started levelling everything in its path; spartina spread over the salt-marshes, eliminating native plants and altering the habitat of the animals living there. Eradicating spartina has proved to be impossible; even keeping it at bay is difficult and expensive.