Letter: Mink crackdown

Regarding your report (2 February) on wild mink being cleared from the Highlands, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has proven through long-term scientific research that this method of tracking and controlling mink can be highly successful.

Over four years, we cleared American mink from a 400sq km pocket of Herefordshire and successfully reintroduced water voles into it. We know it is possible to reverse the biodiversity loss caused by mink but it takes vigilance and a cohesive working strategy. Our project was only possible with the co-operation of more than 100 landowners who granted us permission to access the river.

Much of the current mink detection and eradication in Scotland is being carried out on sporting estates by ghillies and keepers as part of their ongoing management programme in partnership with volunteers, conservation bodies and various riparian authorities. A partnership approach is the way forward.

KATRINA J CANDY

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

Scone, Perthshire