Small black stoat

philthenoise

On two separate occasions and two different location about 2 miles apart. I have seen a small black stoat like animal, they were only about 9" to a foot long, anybody know what they might be

Spear

Moved from Newbies and FAQ.

EGAR

Female Mink, I'd say.

Shanao

Female mink. Is that what you've seen?

Chris_Heilong

So cute:), I had ferrets so always have a soft spot for Mustelidae.

code187.2010

Wouldn't class these vermin as cute.Released in their thousands by ill- informed animal rights activists, mink have

decimated

our native wildlife.

Chris_Heilong

Yeah its a well known fact but Man is the problem here not them, man brought them to Ireland to skin them and make Fur coats, There was always the risk that they would get out into our environment, Mustelidae are top predators and very versatile, Fur Farms should never have been aloud operate here in the first place, any wildlife that is destroyed is directly related to the Fur trade.

homerhop

So the animal activists who also released them should not shoulder some of the blame?

Chris_Heilong

homerhop wrote: »

So the animal activists who also released them should not shoulder some of the blame?

Chicken and Egg, I dont agree with the activists actions but feel the fur trade is still the main player here, no Fur trade no problem.

doctor evil

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Chicken and Egg, I dont agree with the activists actions but feel the fur trade is still the main player here, no Fur trade no problem.

Overly simplistic and an absolute cop out of an argument.

lets ban cars instead of dealing with those who drive badly

Chris_Heilong

doctor evil wrote: »

Overly simplistic and an absolute cop out of an argument.

lets ban cars instead of dealing with those who drive badly

Wasnt really looking to have an argument, I just said they were cute:o

Its easy to put the blame on the Animal I am just trying to get people to see the other side of the coin. A proper education in a driving school that you need to graduate from before even getting behind the wheel of a car is one solution to the driving problem you mentioned and I dont think I was over simplifying things, no fur trade in Ireland no danger to Irish wildlife and unlike cars, Fur is not a necessity that we need for everyday living. Do you disagree?

EGAR

I agree with Chris.

The area I am from in Germany is full of raccoons. They were not released, they escaped and lustily multiplied...

code187.2010

I'm in no way in favour of the fur trade, but escapees on their own would never have delivered the devastation that the thousands of mink released by these activists has done.No species has more of a right to exist over another, the mink has pushed a lot of our native species to the brink, the water vole being a prime example.

EGAR

There is no doubt whatsoever that foreign species can wreak havoc on the native wildlife, code, and I think everyone on this thread agrees with that. A prime example is the Grey Squirrel but you hear very few people on about them because they are *cute and have fluffy tails*.

It was humans who caged mink, humans who bred them for the fur trade and humans who mass released them. It's easy to see who is at fault here.

Raccoons can have up to five kits. We have had an explosion of raccoons around my home town in the last 5 years and they are now so common that you see them as roadkill.. I think it crept up slowly and the few who escaped were left alone until they merrily multiplied. A single raccoon will eat countless eggs as they are good climbers.

code187.2010

EGAR wrote: »

It was humans who caged mink, humans who bred them for the fur trade and humans who mass released them. It's easy to see who is at fault here.

Couldn't agree more Egar, take the Human out of the equation and nature for the most part takes care of itself.