The review of mink predation and control of mink population in Ireland, commissioned by the National Parks & Wildlife Service of my Department in 2009 (full reference and link below), provides a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with effective mink eradication programmes.
One of the major costs of such a programme would be the employment of appropriate staff with the skills and experience required. In other countries where measures to eradicate mink in the wild have been carried out, it has been shown that full-time staff are required to manage and coordinate the large scale control operations. Properly trained staff are also needed to conduct the vast majority of the necessary fieldwork, given the extensive and regimented level of fieldwork that is needed all year round, and in all weather conditions, to ensure a successful large scale operation.
The NPWS in my Department does from time to time liaise with voluntary organisations concerning this matter. I note that volunteers and local landowners can have a vital role to play in the follow-up monitoring phase of a control programme. After the initial intensive removal phase of a control programme there is an ongoing need for several years of additional monitoring. Operations in Scotland and elsewhere have demonstrated that volunteers may carry out the bulk of this work, in cooperation with the lead statutory agency.
Voluntary organisations can contact the NPWS should they wish to discuss issues around the feral mink population in greater detail.
Roy, S., Reid, N., McDonald, R.A. (2009) A review of mink predation and control in Ireland.
Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 40. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland. https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM40.pdf
