Mink Cage Trap

How To Use

1. When trapping mink it is often beneficial to use a mink raft (if there is enough water to deploy it).
2. Islands and purpose-made mink rafts are also key places to locate traps.
3. Set rafts and traps where mink are most likely to encounter them.
4. Particular features to look for include confluences of watercourses, inlets or outlets for ponds and lakes, where drains, hedges or fence lines meet watercourses.
5. It is advisable not to position rafts or traps in the open, particularly beside public footpaths. This is in part to avoid theft, vandalism and distress to trapped animals.
6. It has been shown mink control is most effective when the rafts/trap positions are at 1km intervals on a watercourse. This requires many people to make an effective network, so a co-ordinated programme of mink control is essential for best results.
7. Trap between January and mid-April to minimise the potential breeding population of mink, and from August to December to catch dispersing and wintering animals.
8. The advice from the national water vole steering group is that mink trapping should not be undertaken when female mink may have dependent young (between mid-April and the end of July)
9. Do not set traps in extreme weather – torrential rain or storms – as this can cause undue distress or death of captured animals (which may not always be mink).
10. Put the trap opening downstream as this is the most likely side a mink will climb out of the water.Once the trap is set take care to ensure the cover fits properly so that the animal is sheltered and the trap mechanism works correctly. In some situations, the trap with food (cat food or fish heads for example) increases the chance of trapping mink.
11. Once set, the trap should be checked at least once every 24 hours. The best time to check a trap is in the morning as manyriverside animals are most active during the night.
12. If your trap contains a mink it must be killed as it is illegal to release it back into the wild.