Study to examine mink question

AT one time, mink coats were fashionable among stylish folk, but the animal that provided them has now become a pest in parts of Ireland.

First brought here when fur-producing mink farms were being set up in the 1950s, American mink have been found in the wild in many areas of the country for many years and are now part of rural folklore.

Some of the mink escaped from the farms, or were deliberately set free, and quickly became established in the wild.

Not many farmers keep poultry nowadays, but mink appear to be a more vicious enemy of domestic fowl than the fox and also attack birds in the wild.

Up to now, nobody has been able to quantify the mink population in Ireland, but a researcher at the zoology department in UCG has started a study with a view to learning about how much damage is caused by mink and the extent of control measures.

Conall Hawkins of the university’s mammal ecology group wants to hear from anyone who suffered economic loss due to mink predation, or has seen mink on their land, or from people who may be controlling mink on their land.

Mink are found along waterways and lakes in North America, but they generally prefer smaller streams to the large, broad rivers. They have adapted well to Irish conditions.

Among their natural enemies are bobcats, wolves and coyotes and because these are not found here, mink have been allowed to grow unchecked.

However, Sean Buckley, owner of the Coolwood Wildlife Park, near Killarney, who has had problems with mink infestation, has an interesting theory — he believes the otter has become a natural enemy of mink in Ireland.

“The otter is a territorial animal which doesn’t want mink coming into its territory. The otter is also much bigger and stronger than the mink and would win out in a contest,” he said.

Mr Buckley doesn’t see many mink these days and he reckons this is because they have largely left the area.

“There was a time when I’d see a mink every day, but I didn’t see one all summer until this week. They seem to have spread out across the country and moved on eastwards towards Newmarket and Freemount, in Co Cork,” he said.

Mr Hawkins, meanwhile, said that commercial poultry farms were largely unaffected but he is anxious to contact fish farmers, or people rearing rare-breed poultry or pheasant poults whose stock has been attacked by mink.

Mink, a semi-aquatic member of the weasel family, can cause damage to fish farms and have also been known to attack rainbow trout rearing cages run by the southwestern Regional Fisheries Board on lakes at Inchigeela, Co Cork.

Being long, thin animals, mink are able to squeeze through small holes which may account for many escapes from captivity. The mink is about the size of a house cat and is equally at home on land and water.

The mink has a long, narrow body which can measure up to 30 inches in a male, with short legs and a relatively long tail. The head is flattened, the snout is short and pointed and the eyes are small. Colour is generally dark, chocolate brown and nearly black on the feet and end of the tail. They are most common along streams partly choked by debris which create water holes and offer concealment. Lake and marsh-dwelling mink are usually larger than those that live along streams.

Mink are active throughout the year and may travel several kilometres in their search for food. Fish, frogs, clams, freshwater mussels, snakes, rats and mice, ground squirrels, muskrats, and fowl constitute their main diet.

Mink are also causing havoc to other wildlife in parts of Britain and a major eradication programme has been underway for years in the Scottish Hebrides.

The research by Mr Hawkins will undoubtedly be welcomed by many people who have been concerned about the growth in the mink population.

The project is being sponsored by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.