Yakutia proposes to revoke the protected status of American mink due to growing population – Business & Economy

YAKUTSK, November 1. /TASS/. The number of American minks previously released in Yakutia has increased 6.5 times since the 1960s, threatening the region’s native species. Unrestricted hunting of mink could cope with the risks, director of the Institute of Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone (the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) told TASS.

It has been more than fifty years since the American mink was first released into the nature of Yakutia. Since then, its habitat has expanded by about 150,000 square kilometers to the northeast of the region. More than 35 years after 1964 the population grew to 4,000 – 5,000. In 2023, the species was placed on Russia’s list of 100 most dangerous alien organisms.

“The growing habitat trend continues. The danger is that it is an alien domesticated species. It can become invasive and harm native animals by competing with them. In the central districts of Yakutia, the American mink destroys nests of ducks and other animals close to water.” birds, I think it is necessary to allow unlimited hunting. Currently, hunting is allowed within a limited time,” the scientist said.

Protected status

According to the Yakutia wildlife authority, minks have been reported in 11 districts. The current hunting season runs from October 15 to February 28.

Hunting expert Artur Dmitriev shares the scientist’s opinion. “Of course we have to revoke the protected status. Unlike other introduced species, such as the muskrat, the American mink is expanding its range. The species is rather a pest that has no commercial value whatsoever. Either way, the population must be regulated,” he said.

The history of the settlement

The American mink was first brought to the Soviet Union in 1923 to be bred on fur farms. After 2028, the country began to establish the American mink in the wild. In the early 1960s, 686 minks were released in the southern and southwestern parts of Yakutia: along the Tokko, Olekma, Pilka and Aldan rivers.

In 1959-1966 they were bred on the farms of Yakutia until there was insufficient food. At the same time, the introduced American mink has successfully naturalized in many regions of Russia.

Previously, European ecologists found that the habitat of invasive American mink, which can spread the coronavirus, had expanded significantly in almost all countries of the subcontinent over the past fifteen years, and now dominate the ecosystems of twelve European states. The animals can become infected with both the coronavirus and bird flu and can quickly spread both pathogens in their populations, scientists say. American minks also spread canine plague and viral plasmocytosis, and this makes them especially dangerous to other European mammals.