BOUNTY SCHEME TO CONTROL WILD MINK IN GALWAY

Date Published: 06-Mar-2012

Galway is to be one of the main focus areas of a new bounty scheme which aims to control the numbers of wild mink nationwide.

The Heritage Minister says a national cull of wild mink would be cost-prohibitive and is to focus efforts on the problem Counties of Galway, Donegal, Kerry and Mayo.

The twenty-thousand-euro 'bounty scheme' aims to protecting the nesting site of rare and threatened ground birds.

Last year it was estimated that as many as 33-thousand wild mink exist in Ireland.

Minister Deenihan says the bounty will be offered to hunters as a controlled measure based on the number of mink killed.