AS THOUSANDS of Tidy Towns volunteers around the country clean streets and put out flower boxes in preparation for judging, one committee has begun a unique initiative by organising a hunt for feral mink.
Athlone Tidy Towns Committee in Co Westmeath decided to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Services when they noticed a decline in waterfowl in the area.
When the non-native mink was identified as a likely cause, the Tidy Towns committee offered to begin culling the predators.
The area around Athlone, on the banks of the river Shannon, is home to a range of wild birds including the red-listed corncrake.
Séamus McCann of Athlone Tidy Towns committee has already come across a number of mink in the area.
“Years ago you would always have seen a duck with nine or 10 chicks, now you would only see one or two,” Mr McCann said.
“The mink is a ferocious killer, he’s an absolutely ferocious killer, they actually kill for fun as well as for food,” he added.
Mink were originally brought to Ireland by fur farmers. Over the years the animals escaped from the farms and are now established in many parts of the country.
Mr McCann believes large numbers have taken up residence around the Shannon. “I met a few farmers and they told me the place is crawling with mink and anyone who has hens or ducks will tell you they are being taken.”
Having met the the Parks and Wildlife Service, Mr McCann obtained a number of Fenn Mark 6 traps, designed to catch and kill the animals.
“This is a humane way of doing it, it is a legal trap in England and Ireland,” he said.
Mr McCann said the initiative was one part of a larger wildlife project being undertaken by the committee. He said planned to put up bird and bat boxes and is hoping to talk to Birdwatch Ireland about other projects in the locality.