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Taw and Torridge wildfowlers cause a stink for mink
Taw and Torridge Wildfowling Club (TTWC) has recently launched a mink control programme as part of its wider conservation efforts, which currently include 24 duck nesting tubes in and around the Taw estuary.
No good deed goes unpunished
A key hurdle for the club is that it does not own any land; all its shooting areas are leased and often subjected to regular tidal inundation. This somewhat limits the conservation activities that are outwardly visible to the public. In the past, the committee has sought to follow well-recognised conservation initiatives.
A proposal by TTWC to install passerine nest boxes and plant native bluebells in suitable habitat bordering the Tarka Trail was verbally rejected by the local council landowner on health and safety grounds… because a ladder would be required and, we are told, the bluebells might get there one day anyway.
The placement of duck nest tubes and owl boxes on a local Nature Reserve, managed by a volunteer conservation group, was also dismissed. Apparently, the idea that a shooting club could contribute to nature conservation may have upset the reserve volunteers. One must wonder whether a duck would mind exactly who provided the ‘des res’!
Taw and Torridge wildfowlers' efforts pay off
A properly conducted invasive species control programme, coupled with a proactive landowner, offered a promising solution.
Claire Peacock, who manages a 35-acre coarse fishery Clovelly Lakes, has partnered with the club. TTWC already had seven duck nest tubes on site, part of its wider 25-tube portfolio. However, recently, Claire has been losing fish to suspected mink attacks and has agreed to allow TTWC to trap mink on the site, both to support the nesting tubes and reduce predation at the fishery.
Aside from the immediate local benefits, the programme also contributes to the national effort to eradicate this voracious predator. The damage caused by mink to native water vole populations is well documented. In addition, all ground-nesting birds and small mammals are vulnerable to mink predation. Even kingfisher burrows are not safe.
The heart of the operation is this remote monitoring device that sends a text and email to selected recipients
A trail of carp scales on site, a likely mink kill
The practice golf ball contains a cigarette filter saturated with Eau de Mink. This is extracted from mink carcasses
A mink trap next to one of Taw and Torridge Wildfowling Club’s duck nest tubes
Excellent purpose-built mink rafts are available commercially but at considerable cost. They address the important issue of material degradation in the water leading to plastic particle pollution. A “North Devon spin” is to use a re-purposed body board that is encased in hard-wearing material to avoid this. Thjs here is a prototype used by Taw and Torridge Wildfowling Club
Remote monitoring device on a mink trap
The mink trap is a standard treadle-operated live cage trap, with a restricted entrance to specifically exclude otter cubs
The power of partnerships
Kevin Hyland, TTWC’s conservation and environment officer, attended a mink control workshop in 2019 led by Pam Marshall-Ball of Rookmarsh Ecology. Pam had played a key role in running a successful control programme on the Somerset Levels.
As in many areas of life, clay-based detection pads, used effectively in the Somerset project, have since been superseded by modern electronics, significantly reducing travel time and labour.
A web search led the club to the Waterlife Recovery Trust (WRT), which has been running a highly successful mink eradication programme, first launched in East Anglia. Their newsletters make fascinating reading and highlight just how effective the project has been. More information can be found on the WRT website.
BASC mink guidance and trapping courses
Read our guidance on invasive American mink to find out how to control it in the most effective ways.
For upcoming mink control courses, please visit our dedicated page.
Mink trapping programme
WRT has provided vital support for the TTWC programme. At the heart of the trapping system is the Remoti. This is a remote sensor that sends both an email and a text alert to selected volunteers, removing the need to check traps in person every 24 hours. The club now has a team of volunteers ready to respond to any trap activation.
WRT plays another key role in the project by supplying Eau de Mink, a scent attractant made using hand-rolled cigarette filters infused with mink odour. Move over, Coco! This scent piques the curiosity of passing mink, which enter the trap to investigate.
In return for this unique ‘perfume’, the club sends mink carcasses back to WRT. The scent glands are used to produce more attractants, and the carcasses contribute to ongoing genetic research.
Working smart, not hard
The traps themselves are simple yet ingenious. A pallet is used as a base, paired with one of North Devon’s many discarded bodyboards as a flotation aid. Only fibreglass or plastic-coated boards are used to avoid foam breakdown and plastic pollution.
A commercially available live-catch trap, specifically designed to exclude otter cubs, is placed inside a tunnel, with the Remoti sensor attached to the spring door. A magnetic switch is triggered when the trap is sprung.
The raft is set adrift close to the shore to minimise the risk to non-target species. The scent attractant only needs replacing every three months. The beauty of the system is that it requires minimal operator input, making it ideal for a volunteer-led initiative.
Patience is a virtue – waiting for results
This is a long-term commitment. Data from WRT shows that just eight mink were caught in all of Devon in 2024. However, their East Anglia data illustrates the system’s immense potential. The trap network is expanding across the UK, from Hugh Raven’s Ardtornish Estate to TTWC and others across the Southwest. With continued effort, we may one day achieve a mink-free British Isles.
There is, however, one setback: for some inexplicable reason, the club is struggling to find volunteers willing to store mink carcasses in their freezers at home. We struggle to understand why! While we wait for our first mink, get in touch if you’re willing to move your peas aside to make space for a mink or two!
About Taw and Torridge Wildfowling Club
TTWC is a BASC-affiliated wildfowling club based on and around the North Devon coast, focusing principally on the Taw and Torridge estuaries.
The club welcomes new membership enquiries, which should be addressed to TTWC secretary.
New members will be required to play an active role in maintaining and expanding its conservation work.
Taw and Torridge Wildfowling Club also welcomes contact from landowners or any land management organisations to discuss future proposals for conservation projects. Subjects should ideally be related to wetland conservation but all projects that may benefit biodiversity, invasive species control and the environment will be given consideration. Please contact the secretary as above, FAO TTWC conservation and environment officer.
TTWC would like to express their thanks to:
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