American mink

About American mink

The American mink (Neogale vision or Neovison vison) is a well-known invasive non-native species in Scotland and across the Britain. It spread throughout the country following escapes from fur farms in the latter half of the 20th century.

Being an opportunistic predator, often killing more than they require for food, mink have had a devastating effect on our native wildlife. In particular, ground nesting birds and water vole populations are vulnerable to predation by this avid hunter.

The mink is a semi-aquatic mammal with rich, usually dark brown fur, and a white chin patch. They belong to the “Mustelid” family and occupy both freshwater and saltwater habitats, following waterways, lake edges and coasts.

To find out more about identifying mink, their introduction in Britain and their impacts, visit our American mink page.

What we do

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative works with over 350 volunteers to monitor for and trap American mink across northern Scotland. By controlling populations of the invasive mink, we hope to reduce their impact on native biodiversity and allow wildlife to recover.

Follow the link below to find out more about our Mink Control Project and how you can get involved.

Get involved

Our project relies on the support of volunteers to adopt mink rafts and traps and help us monitor for, and catch, American mink across a wide area.

Volunteers will adopt a monitoring raft (with a clay pad to detect mink tracks) or live-capture trap in their local area. If a mink is captured, their local project contact is alerted and the mink is humanely dispatched by trained and licensed personnel. We provide all equipment, training and support for volunteers.

We currently have over 350 volunteers helping to monitor over 600 rafts and traps in northern Scotland. Would you like to get involved and help protect vulnerable wildlife in your area?