Mink could be eradicated across a swathe of the midlands if a pioneering conservation programme proves successful.
The Midland’s Mink Eradication Programme is a pilot project which was launched earlier this year and aims to trap and euthanise the mink population around the shores of Lough Ree on the Shannon.
Led jointly 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.
The target area for the programme stretches 20km back from the shores of Lough Ree. It covers an area of around 2,500 square kilometres across counties Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon.
The programme is based in Moate, Co Westmeath and is being run by a programme co-ordinator and programme community engagement officer, according to Owen Murphy who is senior project manager with the Breeding Waders EIP.
A raft used to trap mink.
The aim is to put in place 600 traps which will be monitored on a 24-hour basis. It is envisaged that between 150 and 250 unpaid volunteers will be recruited and trained to look after the traps. A message is automatically sent to the relevant volunteers looking after a particular trap once it is activated.
The trap is then checked. If there’s a mink in the trap then the animal is humanely euthanised. If it is not a mink then the animal is released.
Although the project has only been operational since January, approximately 50 volunteers have been trained, and 80-90 traps are in location, Murphy said. Around 34-35 mink have been trapped so far.
“It’s really, really early days for the project, but we’ve made a very good start,” said Murphy.
American mink was introduced into Ireland in the 1950s when the first of the country’s fur farms were started. It is now considered one of Ireland’s most damaging invasive species.
Mink could be eradicated across a swathe of the midlands if a pioneering conservation programme proves successful.
The Midland’s Mink Eradication Programme is a pilot project which was launched earlier this year and aims to trap and euthanise the mink population around the shores of Lough Ree on the Shannon.
Led jointly 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.
The target area for the programme stretches 20km back from the shores of Lough Ree. It covers an area of around 2,500 square kilometres across counties Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon.
The programme is based in Moate, Co Westmeath and is being run by a programme co-ordinator and programme community engagement officer, according to Owen Murphy who is senior project manager with the Breeding Waders EIP.
A raft used to trap mink.
The aim is to put in place 600 traps which will be monitored on a 24-hour basis. It is envisaged that between 150 and 250 unpaid volunteers will be recruited and trained to look after the traps. A message is automatically sent to the relevant volunteers looking after a particular trap once it is activated.
The trap is then checked. If there’s a mink in the trap then the animal is humanely euthanised. If it is not a mink then the animal is released.
Although the project has only been operational since January, approximately 50 volunteers have been trained, and 80-90 traps are in location, Murphy said. Around 34-35 mink have been trapped so far.
“It’s really, really early days for the project, but we’ve made a very good start,” said Murphy.
American mink was introduced into Ireland in the 1950s when the first of the country’s fur farms were started. It is now considered one of Ireland’s most damaging invasive species.
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