Mink - fashion victims

Emma Chaplin
, 24 June 2021
Mink - fashion victims
Mink © Darin Smith

Michael Blencowe 

The Wind in the Willows is one of Britain’s most beloved books. Yet this story of riverbank wildlife would have no doubt lost some of its charm if, in the final chapter, Kenneth Grahame had introduced a new character; a deranged American serial killer who eats his victims.

It’s easy to cast American Mink as the bad guys. With long, sleek bodies equipped with razor sharp teeth they’re natural born killers as vicious in water as they are on land. Part Polecat, part Piranha. But it was the Mink’s adaptation to winter and water - thick, waterproof fur - that was its downfall. Enter the real villains of this tale; the ghastly women who craved Mink fur coats and the greedy men out make a fast buck from a Mink massacre.

American Mink were imported into the UK in 1929. By the fifties British Mink farms were springing up everywhere producing pelts at full pelt. In East Sussex there were farms at Chiddingly, Plumpton, Isfield and Buxted. But fur farmers had overlooked one important thing; Mink were smarter than they were. Mary Potter remembers the Buxted farm; “they built the cages with ordinary wire netting. The Mink made short work of that and escaped. With stronger netting, they started again with more Mink, but again, the wire was no match for their teeth. After a third attempt with stronger wire netting they gave up and just released them.”

The result of a new alien predator invading our waterways was catastrophic. Kingfishers, ducks, Moorhens, fish and Toads suddenly found themselves on the Mink’s menu and were swiftly dispatched with a Dracula-style neck bite. The worst victim was the Water Vole – Ratty from The Wind in the Willows - which Mink almost completely eradicated from Sussex.

The late, great Jim ‘The Fish’ Smith walked and worked the River Ouse for decades. Legend has it that Ouse river water ran in his veins. He first encountered a Mink decades ago, when one cruised past him downstream on a piece of driftwood. He once told me “I had never seen a Mink before and had no idea what it was, but it wasn’t long before we saw God knows how many along the river.” During the sixties Jim and four others were employed to trap and humanely kill Mink along the Ouse. "In those days we were doing nothing else but trapping Mink. We were catching 25-30 a week.” 

Thankfully fashions and attitudes change and Mink farms are gone but their ferocious, furry legacy remains in our rivers. “These days you don't see that many Mink so I have to conclude that the effort we have put in to controlling them has been successful,”  Jim told me “but you're never going to get rid of all of them”.  

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Comments

  • Edwina Rowling:

    Hi. Visited Woods Mill today and saw a smallish dark mammal that looked a lot like a mink. Is that possible or what might it be? Thanks

    ANSWER Yes it might be.

    30 Jun 2021 17:30:00

  • Helen Grover:

    We walked along the river Ouse yesterday and we saw a mink on the riverbank opposite hunting, a pretty creature

    16 Nov 2021 13:17:00

  • Saroj Painter:

    Saw a large mink today at Bramber Brooks .

    06 Mar 2022 18:51:00

  • Diane Taylor:

    Just seen a very healthy looking mink on Chuckmere River bank from the bridge where the South Downs Way crosses in Alfriston. It watched us for a few seconds then dove into the water and was not seen by us again despite waiting 10 mins for any reappearance.

    24 May 2024 19:21:00

  • Judith Colquhoun:

    Just seen a dark sleek animal that I thought was a mink. Scooted across the Egrets way path from the Ouse to a dense thicket of grass and bramble. Just south of the A27 road bridge. 4.15pm June 27, 2024

    27 Jun 2024 15:41:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    That sounds like a Mink

  • Lynda Free:

    Sadly a mink visited my animal sanctuary in Brightling , and killed many chickens and turkeys , I never saw him , but no matter what we did to keep them safe it was never enough, I also found many of our koi fish skeletons left on the garden bench. After saying this , I don’t blame the mink , he doesn’t have the luxury of supermarkets, they are just trying to live. I sent all the birds I had left to another sanctuary and still to this day pay for their keep.

    02 Jul 2024 16:01:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Very sorry to hear this

  • Glen Mifsud:

    Can you refer me to a specialist on mink traps please?

    14 Jul 2025 16:32:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Try Waterlife Recovery Trust, they have lots of information. 

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