Invasive mink 'nearly eradicated' in Suffolk Broads

In the 1920s, American Mink - and non-native species Coypu - were bred intensively on the Broads for their fur.

But they escaped into the wild and bred very successfully on the Broads and elsewhere - leading to a catastrophic 90% UK decline in water voles as well as damage to other native bird and mammal species.

But this year, just seven mink were caught in Norfolk and five in Suffolk from hundreds of traps - in contrast to the hundreds captured in the first years of the campaign.

The Broads Authority has confirmed that there is no indication that mink have bred in Norfolk or Suffolk in the last year, and it is thought the species has been "nearly eradicated" from the two counties.

Efforts to control mink populations on the Broads began in 2003, when a trapping programme began.

This was managed by Norfolk Mink Project - now called Waterlife Recovery East - and was focused around the River Wensum but widened to the rest of the Broads and Norfolk.

Meanwhile Suffolk Wildlife Trust undertook a similar role south of the border.

In the first two and a half years, 300 mink were trapped on the Wensum alone. Efforts were ramped up during the last two and a half years - thanks largely to extra cash from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Anglian Water.

Coypu were removed many years previously following an intensive eradication programme which caught the last remaining Coypu in 1989.

But mink remained at large in East Anglia and the Broads for a much long period - and conservation organisations such as the RSPB feared they were hampering the return of rare species including bittern, crane and water voles.

There are currently around 340 humane ‘smart traps’ and traps on floating rafts set in Norfolk which enable mink to be caught safely. They are then humanely killed by a trained professional or volunteer.

Studies by a geneticist has found that mink caught in the Broads are closely related - indicated that there are few entering from outside the region.

A recent £500k windfall from the Natural England Species Recovery Programme has enabled more mink to be trapped from the Thames to Lincolnshire, around the currently trapped areas  in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire - reducing the risk of more mink from elsewhere moving into the Broads.

Simon Baker of Waterlife Recovery Trust said: “The support from partners and volunteers has allowed us to get to a point where mink have been almost eradicated from a core area of Norfolk and Suffolk that includes the Broads.

"We are cautiously optimistic therefore that mink eradication is possible.”

“Our work with a dedicated community around our river networks, alongside recent additional funding and a scientific approach, is helping to protect wildlife and see water voles flourishing in the Broads again.”

Funding has come from a variety of sources including the Broads Authority, Internal Drainage Boards, Norfolk County Council, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL), managed by the Authority.