Pond visitor, What is it?

[Boosh]

Did a bit of digging on them.
Apparently the first mink were imported in the 1920's.
Mink were confirmed breeding in the wild in Britain in 1956, probably due to escapees, but also a chance of releases.
(Don't know of the Animal Liberation Front were active back then!)
Fur farms were banned in 2000.

 

[HonestJohn]

I reckon it’s a sick and twisted neighbour who’s messing with you

 

[Bowland blades]

otter or mink

not an otter ! i lost all my prized Koi in one night Big Koi over 10 lb each. They ate brain and left the rest, very much brain first feeders

 

[gelert]

not an otter ! i lost all my prized Koi in one night Big Koi over 10 lb each. They ate brain and left the rest, very much brain first feeders

Koi carp owner devastated after otter kills £7,000 worth of fish in garden pond

WARNING: Graphic images.

www.google.com

Actually not always the case.

 

[gelert]

Almost identical wound marks and this was an otter kill.

 

[Stephen3006]

not an otter ! i lost all my prized Koi in one night Big Koi over 10 lb each. They ate brain and left the rest, very much brain first feeders

Sickening!

 

[levigsp]

I'd hazard a guess that even if the animal nutters had not released mink, the bloody things would have broken out and got a foothold.
Anybody that has kept ferrets know's how they can exploit any weakness in cages.
Are there still any fur farms in Britain? And how many incidents of animal rights folk releasing them occured?
You'd think hundreds of fur farms got hit from what you hear.

The last fur farms closed in 2003 and before that hundreds were raided by idiots to release the poor creatures.

 

[Bowland blades]

The last fur farms closed in 2003 and before that hundreds were raided by idiots to release the poor creatures.

mink are disapearing thank goodness and otters are at the lead as they dont like competition on "their patch"

 

[Foxyboy43]

Could be worse - you could live in Belgium where to quote thevlast line of the second paragraph “thousands of minks lives have been saved” by the closure of their mink farms. I wonder where they were released sent then???
Typical treehuggers nonsense.

Fur Is Dead: Belgium Shuts Down Fur Farms Ahead of Schedule

The demand for fur is over – Belgian fur farmers have seen that and shut their farms almost 2 years before the deadline.

www.peta.org.uk

 

[Longstrider]

A nice tunnel 3 to 4 feet long with a mackerel head or two at the back end and a #6 Fenn trap halfway along was always my go-to method for mink on the fishery when I was Head Bailiff. Make sure to tether the trap well because even a #6 won't always be as quick as you'd want it to be. I used to dig the tunnel into the bank and put about a 5 foot brake-cable tether on the trap. That way the trap would reach nice deep water if it was pulled from the tunnel. (Not much swimming done whilst carrying the weight of a Fenn ) Combine that method with always having the .410 with you when out setting and checking traps and you'll soon get on top of the problem.
With the tunnel dug at or very close to the waterline the trigger plate of the trap made a nice dry stepping stone. It's weird that something as aquatic as a mink will use any convenient stone or similar to keep its toes dry, but they will, and you can use that to your advantage

 

[levigsp]

mink are disapearing thank goodness and otters are at the lead as they dont like competition on "their patch"

Yes I know and wish i never had otters here.

 

[Bowland blades]

Yes I know and wish i never had otters here.

when the population builds folks soon get why we shouln't give anything endless protection , look at Badgers for instance ! Government dont have the nuts for ending protection hence a time limit should always be set for renewal of protection orders . Personally i think everything should keep a season even if its 2 minutes long , this way we just expand it to suit the population dynamics and threat .
consider Badgers for instance .....