Could you help make our rivers mink free?
There is some genuinely encouraging news for the future of our rivers and their
wildlife, and an opportunity for farmers and landowners across the North East
Cotswolds to play a practical part.
American mink are an invasive non-native predator and their presence along our
waterways can have a serious impact on native wildlife. Water voles are particularly
vulnerable, with mink predation recognised as one of the major pressures on their
populations.
For many years, efforts have therefore focused on controlling mink around important
water vole populations and particular stretches of river. But there is now compelling
evidence that, with enough coverage and a coordinated approach across whole
catchments and landscapes, we can go much further.
Eradication is possible and we now have an opportunity to achieve
it here.
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has secured
funding from Natural England to begin a full mink eradication programme across
Berkshire and Oxfordshire, as part of the wider national effort being led by the
Waterlife Recovery Trust. BBOWT is optimistic that mink-free waterways could be
achievable across the two counties within the next 5 to 10 years.
East Anglia shows what can be achieved
This ambition is backed by a real conservation success story.
A pioneering programme in East Anglia has demonstrated that American mink can
be eradicated at landscape scale. The work has brought together conservation
organisations, landowners and volunteers through a coordinated network of remotely
monitored smart traps.
Importantly, the benefits are already being seen. Water voles are recovering in areas
where mink pressure has been removed, providing a powerful example of the real
world difference that coordinated and sustained action can make.
Now we have the opportunity to do the same here
BBOWT is moving from localised mink control towards eradication across
Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
That distinction is important. Control has traditionally focused on particular stretches
of river or known water vole populations. Eradication requires much more
comprehensive coverage across the landscape, so that remaining mink can be found
and removed and the risk of recolonisation reduced.
A growing network of traps is already operating across Oxfordshire, including within
the Cotswolds and mid Cherwell. The focus now is on filling gaps in that
network, with new trap locations carefully targeted to provide the coverage
needed for eradication.
BBOWT estimates that 217 rafts are required across Oxfordshire to achieve full
coverage and is aiming to have these in place by July 2027.
The technology has also moved on significantly. Remotely monitored smart traps
make a large-scale network much more practical to operate. And the approach is
working, during the 2025 - 26 trapping year, 74 mink were caught across 144 traps.
From the start of the new trapping year in July to mid-August 2026, a further 72 mink
were caught across 201 traps.
Could you help fill the gaps?
This is where our members can make a real difference.
Whilst a network of mink rafts and smart traps are emerging across parts of the
Cotswolds and mid Cherwell, BBOWT need to fill specific gaps in that network,
particularly along watercourses where greater coverage is needed.
This isn't simply about putting out as many traps as possible, there is little benefit in
having several traps close together, so new locations will be carefully targeted to
make the network as effective as possible.
If you have a river, stream or other watercourse on your land and would be willing to
host a mink raft and trap, we would encourage you to get in touch. BBOWT can
look at your location alongside the existing network and identify whether it could help
fill one of the current gaps.
If you already have a monitoring raft, BBOWT is also keen to hear from anyone
willing to have it upgraded to a cage trap with a smart monitoring unit.
Importantly, this isn't restricted to Cluster members or land within the Evenlode
Landscape Recovery project. Good coverage depends on working across farm
and project boundaries, so please also share the opportunity with neighbouring
farmers and landowners who may have suitable watercourses.
And if you have friends or farming contacts further afield, encourage them to contact
their local Wildlife Trust. This is part of a nationwide effort, with coordinated coverage
across catchments helping to reduce the risk of mink moving back into areas where
they have already been removed.
Small actions, joined together
The experience in East Anglia shows what can happen when farmers, landowners,
conservation organisations and volunteers work together across a whole landscape.
One trap on one farm may feel like a small intervention. But, in the right location and
connected with traps across neighbouring farms and waterways, it becomes part of a
coordinated network with the potential to remove mink from our rivers altogether,
giving water voles and other native wildlife the opportunity to recover.
If you have a suitable watercourse and would be willing to host a trap, know of
a historic mink hotspot, or can put us in touch with another farmer or
landowner who may be able to help, please get in touch at
contact@cotswoldfarmers.org. We can then connect you with the BBOWT
team to see whether your location could help fill one of the gaps
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