Clare Daly
Question:605. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the action he has taken to protect our heritage and wildlife from minks escaping from mink farms. [47047/13]
View answerTuesday, 5 November 2013
Questions (605)
Written answers
Wild mink are not a protected species under the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2012 and they can be controlled by farmers, landowners and others.
A study commissioned by my Department, and published in 2009, estimated the population of mink living in the wild in the State could reach a total of between 20,500 and 33,500 individuals, and identified ground-nesting birds as the species most vulnerable to mink predation. In this regard, my Department is concentrating its resources on land it owns or manages so as to protect the nesting sites of rare and threatened bird species, including red-throated diver, corncrake, grey partridge, waders and terns, from a range of predators, including mink. €92,000 was spent in 2011 with a further €135,000 spent in 2012 on such predator control programmes. Expenditure in 2013 is likely to be in the region of the 2012 figure. This expenditure covers control of not only mink but other predatory species such as the grey crow, magpie and fox.
I also provided €20,000 to the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) to stimulate increased control of mink by game shooting clubs. I consider that this offers a useful addition to the measures already being taken by my Department.
The licencing of mink farms in this State is regulated by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.