Mink trapping steps up a gear in the Hebrides
17/08/2008 18:59:14 A growing tally of non-native mink have been taken from the Western Isles over the past week in on one of the world's largest high-tech eradication programmes. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has confirmed that 31 mink have been captured in traps strategically placed at locations throughout the islands recently with a total of 434 since Phase II got underway in February 2007.The Hebridean Mink Project (HMP) is running the project which has the aim of clearing mink from the islands to protect biodiversity. The fur farm escapees are voracious predators and often take more than they can eat. The next few months of the project will be critical as traps which have been dug in over the past three months are used.
Iain MacLeod, the HMP manager, explained: "We hope to have completed the trap placement by the end of September with around 1000 traps left to dig in out of 7500. Most of these are in the north of Lewis which is a difficult bit of terrain full of peat hags and bog. The first two weeks of this period of trapping has been very successful so far with 53 animals having been caught and we expect this rate of capture to increase as we make our way west into the Loch Roag area - a renowned area for mink.
"It is surprising how quickly we can cover the area when there are 10-12 trappers checking 25-35 traps per day. The technological aspect of the project is important as we have made use of GPS technology and pocket PC's to locate traps and collect data."
"Please, if you come across one of our traps, leave it, as a caged mink will not welcome any fingers inside the cage. Most importantly never open a closed trap or it may catch an animal in an area which is not being worked by the trappers and result in a cruel death for the mink or another animal. The HMP takes the issue of animal welfare very seriously and has the humane control of the mink at its heart."
