Mink Trap bait?

[Hobjob]

Mnk trapper I met with uses dead rotting pigeons which he claims is best.

[Dogghound]

Yes indeed dispersal is at its highest at this time of year. However I have had clay blocks covered in mink tracks in the rafts so they are their. I have started to wear gloves to mask my scent.

[Dogs]

wearing gloves is a great idea.... but i bet you wish you had put a cage trap on the raft now instead of clay blocks!!!

[Dogghound]

Well the clay blocks where down on several sites about a month ago and the traps went in the day after prints had been found so its more than likely the mink are there, just no longer entering the rafts. So they are being put off by the trap, bait, smell or some other factor.

[oddgitt]

Hey Dogghound,

Just wondering for what reasons you'd catch Mink? Not wanting to goad the opposers of this practice, just interested in learning a bit more about it!

Ta,

Rich

[Dogghound]

I am trying to catch mink to kill them due to the pressure they are putting on water vole colonies. At the moment water vole populations in the lower reaches are none existant where there is a large mink presence, this area historically had high water vole numbers. Now the voles are in the upper reaches of the rivers so these traps are between them and areas with high mink presence to hopefully curb the mink spreading up river and destroying these voles. Mink are not native and are a threat to my local wildlife. We are seeing increased numbers of otters however the mink population is this area is still very high.

[Dogs]

By controlling mink numbers you are actively conserving our native (and, like the water-vole, threatened) waterside birds and animals, and of course fish too.