Mink hunting is a country sport involving the hunting of
American mink
The American mink (''Neogale vison'') is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink ...
with
scent hounds along the waterways which make up their habitat, in a manner similar to
fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of h ...
.
["Mink hunting on the rise" ]
BBC, 15 June 2003 Mink hunting took place in the countryside in the UK and Ireland, but since 2005 traditional mink hunting has been
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
in England and Wales.
Origins
When the sport of
otter hunting was given up in the British Isles in the late 1970s due to otters becoming endangered, many packs of Otterhounds converted to hunting the
invasive American mink,
[ which had become established in Britain from 1950 onward, from fur farm escapees. Unsuccessful efforts to eradicate the mink led to it being widely viewed as an invasive pest in Britain and in Ireland (where a bounty is paid per Mink killed).
]
Hunting
There are 22 packs of Minkhounds in the UK, registered with the Masters of Minkhounds Association, and four packs in Ireland, registered with the Mink Hounds Association.["Irish Mink Hounds Association" ]
Hunting Association of Ireland Mink hunts meet once or twice a week over the Summer, from April to October, and draw waterways searching for mink. Followers try to keep up on foot, which may involve wading across a river. When a mink is found, a chase will ensue, with hounds hunting the scent of the mink until they catch it. It is estimated up to 1,400 mink were killed a year by mink hunts in the UK.trail hunting
Trail hunting is a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds in Great Britain. A trail of animal urine (most commonly fox) is laid in advance of the 'hunt', and then tracked by the hound pack and a group of followers ...
and other forms of exempt hunting (such as hunting rats).
The hounds used for Minkhunting are usually elderly foxhounds, drafted from foxhound packs, though some packs also use the historic Otterhound
The Otterhound is a British dog breed. It is a scent hound and is currently recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide. breed.
See also
* Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of h ...
* Hunting with hounds
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...
* Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...
References
{{reflist
Hunting with hounds
Hunting by game
Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom