During the era of fur farms in the UK, American mink escaped and established in the wild. Many mink were also deliberately released into the wild when the fur trade collapsed and mink farms closed in 1995. This has created havoc for our native wildlife which the mink prey on, including the near extermination (95% decline) of one of their favourite prey, the water vole. Mink live close to water and are ruthless predators, taking mammals, birds and fish.

Mink surveying and control has been carried out on Deeside since 2006. The Trust has been supported by a team of active volunteers, currently numbering 65, who maintain and monitor mink ‘rafts’ on our watercourses to detect any sign (i.e. footprints) of mink. In response to a mink sign, the raft is loaded with a trap to catch the individual when it returns to the area. These animals are then humanely dispatched.

Over the last 20 years, more than 300 mink have been removed from the Dee. The numbers are now low and manageable, although we continue to remove up to ten mink each year and this work will continue because mink from other areas may still migrate into Deeside.

Many water vole populations have now recovered, and with additional aid from translocation programmes (carried out by the University of Aberdeen), they are now once more on most of the Dee’s upper and middle tributaries. Wildfowl have also become more abundant with moorhen and mallard ducks now nesting successfully.

This work has been done with partners from Aberdeen University, Cairngorms National Park Authority, NatureScot, the Dee Fishery Board and the River Dee Trust all working together. Funding has been provided from Heritage Lottery Fund, NatureScot, Cairngorm National Park Authority and Esme Fairnburn Trust.