§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the effort to suppress mink numbers by the Environment Agency, English Nature and conservation organisations is being conducted according to a plan; and whether the outcomes in terms of number and location of mink killed are being collected and held centrally. [HL1851]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Currently mink trapping is carried out in river catchments, supported by combinations of the Environment Agency (the lead organisation for the water vole Biodiversity Action Plan), English Nature 143WA and the local wildlife trusts, and other conservation organisations. These aim for local suppression of mink numbers, for example to assist water vole populations, rather than eradication.
The current water vole projects involving mink control are not working to a strict and formal plan, in the true sense of the word, but they are all following guidance and criteria produced by the UK Water Vole Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group and they are part of an informal plan for seeking catchment-scale control of mink in various priority regions of the country.
There is no central recording of controlled mink numbers, but each water vole project which involves mink control keeps a record of the mink killed.