Control of an invasive species: the American mink in Great Britain

Abstract

American mink, native to North America, have been transported around the world for fur farming – inevitably some individuals escaped, and they now occur in the wild across Eurasia and in South America, where they have had devastating impacts on native prey and competitors. This chapter gives an overview of a research project focusing on mink management in the north of Scotland, UK. It assesses, first, how mink have spread across Scotland, and, specifically, to what extent habitat suitability and food availability has influenced the current distribution of mink. It then considers how we might use knowledge of population structure across the landscape to target control efforts, and, finally, whether volunteers can play a useful role in mink control in this area. The chapter is concluded with a discussion of what we might learn from this Scottish case study with respect to the wider issue of invasive American mink elsewhere.