Conservation Status: Introduced. Numbers increasing. Now common and widespread.
Hertfordshire: Numbers are increasing throughout Hertfordshire. Recorded on the River Lea, Stort, Rib, Beane, Mimram, Ver, Gade, Oughton, Hiz, Colne, Chess and at Tring Reservoirs.
Protection: Regarded as a pest.The keeping of mink requires a licence. .
General Information: Escaped from fur farms and now established in the wild. Dark coat (looks black) commonly with a white spot on the chin. A good indication of the presence of mink is the discovery of the droppings (scats). They have a preference for living by the waterside and are carnivores taking a wide variety of prey hunting on the ground, down burrows and underwater. Their most important prey is rabbits but they will take water voles.
Threats: Few. Despite intensive trapping eradication is difficult to achieve. Recolonisation from neighbouring waterways is rapid.
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