Answers on a postcard

BryanL

from todays Examiner


17 July 2008

Mink out of style with wildlife chiefs

By Stephen Rogers
THE undocumented Irish may be getting a hard time in US, but here in Ireland the Government is planning a much more radical expulsion of unwelcome Americans.


The offenders on this side of the Atlantic are fairly reclusive, only make fleeting appearances to dine on our finest fare and wear the finest fur when heading out to dinner.

The American mink was brought to Ireland in 1951 to cater to the demand for fur coats and were bred on up to 40 farms, each containing 70 animals.



Unfortunately, the creatures were more wily than their owners and by 1960 large numbers had escaped into the wild.

Then, when it became obvious that wearing them as coats and muffs was an unacceptable fashion statement, most of the farms simply let the animals go rather than kill them en masse. The result has been a population explosion which the Department of the Environment’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) vows to arrest.

The department is stepping in because, as it puts it: “Of particular concern in recent years has been the perceived impact of mink predation on rare and vulnerable ground nesting birds such as ducks, gulls, terns and red-throated divers.”

A mink needs to eat about a third of its body weight every day in order to maintain body heat and that means consuming a lot of birds. Lightning-fast reactions and sharp teeth mean the creatures are expert killing machines.

There may have been lots of efforts at stopping what many saw as the barbaric skinning of the animals for the sake of a coat. Now however, their own killing prowess has put a bounty back on their heads. The NPWS has launched a tender process for anyone with any ideas on, as it puts it, mink control. The successful candidate must come up with a cunning plan which “emphasises conservation of ground-nesting birds”.

It does not state what methods of control are welcome. The only certainty is Bush will not be enough to protect these Americans.

cavan shooter

I saw two recently, time to get the trap out

Grizzly 45

Of course this article forgot to mention a few liberations by our animal rights friends also hasnt helped the situation much either.:(

Trojan911

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Of course this article forgot to mention a few liberations by our animal rights friends also hasnt helped the situation much either.:(

Correct.

Mellor

A third of their body weight, thats an amazing stat.


Take a single mink, released by an anti 50 years ago, kills on average say 2 birds a day (could be 1 could be 4 depending if its a duck or robin etc)

So if that mink family and a single permanant member over 50 years it has dispatched 35,000-50,000 birds, that doesn't include growth in numbers,
well done antis, well done. 50k protected birds.

meathstevie

Mellor wrote: »

A third of their body weight, thats an amazing stat.


Take a single mink, released by an anti 50 years ago, kills on average say 2 birds a day (could be 1 could be 4 depending if its a duck or robin etc)

So if that mink family and a single permanant member over 50 years it has dispatched 35,000-50,000 birds, that doesn't include growth in numbers,
well done antis, well done. 50k protected birds.

Amen. And it's up to Wildlife Rangers and the likes of us bloodthirsty brutes to try and limit the damage at our own expense.

In fairness now, there's probably also a few minkfarmers who opened the cages when the arse fell out of the fur trade while they should have killed off their stock.

thelurcher

Bryan it could be me being overly paranoid but is this a lead up to the Otter Species Action Plan where they plan on reviewing the impact of mink hunting on otters next year???????
i.e. next spring there'll be an announcement by gormley that mink hunting is banned - we'll argue that they need controlling - they'll counter with the Summer '08 offensive where they 'wiped them out' I'd laugh now but wouldn't put it past those cretins!

Still it's no harm to see the mink get a proper hammering.

chem

Might we see a return of the payment for fox tails? But for mink? Probably the most cost effective way of dealing with the problem nationwide.

pullandbang

chem wrote: »

Might we see a return of the payment for fox tails? But for mink? Probably the most cost effective way of dealing with the problem nationwide.

+1

That would be the right solution.
There was some serious numbers of foxes shot when the bounty was in place.

whitser

as bad as mink are i dont think a bounty is the solution. what will happen there is we'll have lads out with guns and traps who's only interst is money, and thats never a good thing,imo.

Invincible

There is an eradication programme in place at the moment,Shannon callows,it's a ten week programme,traps checked and baited daily,paperwork submitted to wildlife rangers daily,this is funded by the NPWS to protect nesting birds in the area.

kick-on

well i helped the cause the otha day cos i flattened 1 in d car!!!! they are absolute vermin, dont know why any anti would care about them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! would they kill a terrier??

kay 9

kick-on wrote: »

well i helped the cause the otha day cos i flattened 1 in d car!!!! they are absolute vermin, dont know why any anti would care about them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! would they kill a terrier??

Even though a good terrier might have a few minor scratches from the little Bastids razor like teeth the terrier will without doubt get the upper hand. They're an amazing little fighter and animal. The terrier that is of course;)

whitser

kick-on wrote: »

well i helped the cause the otha day cos i flattened 1 in d car!!!! they are absolute vermin, dont know why any anti would care about them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! would they kill a terrier??

not a terrier worth feeding anyway.

Esel

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Of course this article forgot to mention a few liberations by our animal rights friends also hasnt helped the situation much either.:(

Godwin's Law strikes again! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

kick-on

whitser wrote: »

not a terrier worth feeding anyway.

ye i supose your right, i have a fox terrier at the mo who was a brilliant ratter in his day, getting a bit old now though and starting to slow down a bit, does anyone use jack russels for rattingg etc?? there a nice little dog i think

whitser

working russells are getting harder to find nowadays. but i'd say any terrier would take to some ratting no probs. the ikc show people and puppy peddlers have ruined the jack russell.

kay 9

whitser wrote: »

working russells are getting harder to find nowadays. but i'd say any terrier would take to some ratting no probs. the ikc show people and puppy peddlers have ruined the jack russell.

Yeah totally agree with you on that one whitser. To find a good terrier anymore is next to impossible:(

kick-on

did anyone see last weeks countrymans weekly? was al about russels

whitser

yeah i got that one. good write up. i've seen a couple of good workers over the years but i see less of them now. there is some lads around that keep good strains.
it all depends on what sort of work you'll be doing. if its just ratting and rabbiting and work above ground most russells will take to it no probs, working underground after fox and mink is another ball game, and not many jacks around that will do that work, but there are some.