Milltown claims national bounty with capture of mink

By JACQUELINE HOGGE MILLTOWN has become one of the first places in the country to claim a government bounty on mink, following the capture of one of the animals from the Dawros River this week. The vermin have been causing havoc in the waterways surrounding the village in recent years, with several fish, chicken and hen kills attributed to them. The most recent mink was caught on Tuesday in one of several traps set along the riverbank. [private] Six of the animals have been captured and destroyed in the area since September. Last week, a government scheme was introduced that offers €3 for every mink caught, in a nationwide campaign to eradicate the mink population. Frank Glynn of Milltown Development Association said that through assistance from Inland Fisheries Ireland and members of the local community, the problem of mink was being tackled. 'We've been told that for every one we catch, there could be up to seven others, so we're going to have to keep setting traps and hope that we keep a handle on things,' he said. 'They've been spotted along the riverbank and further up near Dick Dowling's cottage so it's a case of doing what we can to catch as many as we can. This one must be one of the first captured in the country since the new government scheme was introduced last week and we imagine more will be caught around here over the coming weeks and months. 'The mink are playing hell with the wildlife in the area and even livestock as they would go after the likes of smaller lambs and such the blood right out of them. 'We're only tackling this small section of the river as it's all we're able to monitor. We had to give some of the cages back to the Inland Fisheries lads as they needed them for places such as Cong, which are also plagued with these animals. 'This is a spawning river for salmon though, so we have to keep the mink at bay as they will destroy all the work that's been done in recent years here if they're not caught.' A 2009 government report estimated it would cost the State €5.3m over five years to eradicate 75 per cent of the mink population. It is hoped the bounty initiative that is administered by the National Association of Regional Game Councils will result in a 50 per cent rise in the number of mink killed this year. The mink is a member of the weasel family and the mink found in Ireland is the American mink that originally escaped from mink farms, which were established here in the 1950s. [/private]