The closure of mink farms in the Netherlands: a unique opportunity for European mink

Author: Maurice La Haye

https://doi.org/10.63269/SJL6018

Abstract: European mink (Mustela lutreola) is a medium-size mustelid and highly endangered in Europe. The species was historically widespread in continental Europe, but the species has suffered a serious decline since the middle of the 19th Century. A major threat for the remaining European mink populations in Europe are escaped American mink (Neogale vison), which outcompete European mink in the wild. However, the farming of American mink was banned in the Netherlands during the global outbreak of Sars-CoV-2. Afterwards, the by-catch of American mink in the National Programme of Muskrat Trapping significantly decreased, demonstrating that American mink observed or trapped in the Netherlands mainly escaped from mink farms. The virtual disappearance of American mink in the wild offers a unique opportunity to reintroduce the highly endangered European mink in the Netherlands.