Miss Quennellheasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates the present mink population of the United Kingdom to be, expressed as colonies or numbers; what is its present distribution in England, Wales and Scotland; what damage he estimates it to have caused; and what steps he has taken and has in mind to take for its control.
§ Mr. John Mackie:It is not possible to estimate the present wild mink population but nearly 5,000 are known to have been killed since 1965.
The principal concentrations of these animals in England and Wales are along inland waterways in South West and Southern England and in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire as well as in South Wales. In the main, they cause damage to poultry, wildfowl and fish, but reports of agricultural losses have never reached serious proportions.
Since 1965, the Ministry has had nine trappers engaged full time on mink control in England and Wales.
Owners and occupiers of land are required by law to report to the Agricultural Departments the presence of mink on their land, but they are now being encouraged to undertake control themselves. Expert advice is freely available on how to do this and, if necessary, they will be lent cage traps free of charge.
The decision to move towards a purely advisory role by 1970 has been fully explained to all interested national organisations and we have been encouraged by the ready response to our appeal for co-operation. I should make it clear, however, that we shall continue to keep a close watch on the position to ensure that pressure on wild mink is not relaxed.
Control of wild mink in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, but I understand that the situation there is similar and a similar policy is being followed.
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