New strategy for tackling American mink menace
Parts of Angus and Perthshire are to be included in a new strategy to protect Scottish wildlife from the American mink.
- By Graham Brown
- Published in the Courier : 02.02.11
- Published online : 02.02.11 @ 06.32am
Rural environments such as the mid-Tay and South Esk have been incorporated in the conservation initiative announced on Tuesday which aims to safeguard species including salmon, water voles and ground nesting birds such as greenshank and lapwing.
The near £1m scheme will commence in April and aims to build on work carried out in the north of Scotland to control mink.
Funding is from Cairngorms, Highland, Moray, Rural Aberdeenshire and Rural Tayside LEADER Programmes 2007 and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) through the Species Action Framework.
The partnership between Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS), Scottish Wildlife Trust, Aberdeen University, SNH and more than 16 other organisations is to be led by a project co-ordinator and will involve the appointment of four regionally-based officers covering the Highlands, rural Aberdeenshire, rural Tayside, and Moray and the Cairngorms.
"There are sound conservation and socio- economic aims behind our initiative. This work must be carried out if we are to protect Scotland's native wildlife and the communities and economies which rely on a thriving natural environment," said RAFTS project development manager Chris Horrill.
Too risky to keep
"Invasive non-native species like the American mink damage our environment and the economy. In north Scotland, an area which relies heavily on sustainable angling and shooting industries as well as wildlife tourism, we can't afford to take the risk of losing parts of our biodiversity."
SNH species adviser and project member Rob Raynor said the project was the first stage of a strategic approach to managing the spread of mink in mainland Scotland and was intended to build on previous successes in the Cairngorms and north-east.
"The project will establish a strategic monitoring and control zone across the north, extending from the mid-Tay to the South Esk, around the east coast to the River Nairn, and across from Dornoch and Cromarty on the east to Ullapool on the west.
"As we gradually establish areas free from mink we hope to eventually expand the zone southwards in future.
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