Sad reality for European mink That, as different animal defense organizations warn, it is about to die out. That is why they encourage public administrations of these entities to bet on an impulse that has been decided in the form of Conservation programs of them.
And it is that the figures call to do it urgently if one takes into account that the European mink population 95% is drastically reduced And even in some populations it has disappeared in just 12 years.
Currently only in Spain 142 copies are counted They survive in more and more demolished river habitats and with a strong presence of the American vision.
The European Nerts, the most endangered carnivorous of the entire continent
Ecologist organizations warn that the European Nerts is about to die out and demands the autonomous communities with Miteción and the presence of the species with a decided impulse for its preservation. According to the IUCN Red List, The species is “in critical danger”, the highest category of threat before it goes out in its natural habitat.
The population has fallen worldwide by 95 % and different populations have disappeared in just 12 years. The American mink and the relegation of river habitats threaten the species, which only has 142 copies in Spain.
This Mustélido occupies almost the entire European surface until the 18th century. From that moment, and more accentuated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the species disappeared from most European countries. In 2012, the population was located in France, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Spain. According to the last 2023 data recently published by IUCN, some of these populations have disappeared in just 12 years.
Spain, last European Nerts Redoubt
The European vision is included in the Spanish catalog of species threatened with the “threatened” category in Spain And because of the low population and decline, it has been considered in a critical situation since 2018. According to the last census of Mitec The population has fallen by 85 % compared to the original population.
«The biggest problem can be found in the pelvis of the Ebro River, where the American mink is concentrated. For the control of these invasive species, better coordination between the different administrations and a certain impulse by the autonomous communities that have an American mink presence to control it is necessary. With regard to the recovery of the European vision, the final implementation of the breeding plan by the Miteco is of vital to reach the recovery of the native species, “explains these environmental agencies.
The most important threat to the European mink – suitable for the destruction of its habitat that is exacerbated by the climatic crisis – is The presence and expansion of the American vision. This invasive species shares the habitat with the European and moves it and dates from before other species such as Iberian Desman or the rat of water. Although there is a strategy for your control, An operational state plan is still missing to guarantee the complete extermination of our country.
On the other hand, although the number of American mink fights has been reduced in recent years, the government has not yet determined the closure of the 26 Fighting Farms That there are still in Spain: 24 in Galicia, one in the Valencian community (in Viver, Castellón) and another in Castilla y León (in Peguerinos, Ávila), some of them arrive to house a maximum of half a million copies.
In these farms, the circumstances of overcrowding and unhealthy in which they live in half a million copies, a danger of ecosystems and also for people, are because some American visions succeed in escaping the natural environment, based on a health risk for biodiversity. For all these reasons, these organizations demand the first urgent measuring the immediate closure of the vision farms that remain in Spain; as well as Other urgent measures to save the European mink of extinction:
- PRepresentation and reinforcement of the American Nink Control With a national extermination plan in all areas where the invasive species are present and the urgent and immediate closure of the mink farms that remain in Spain.
- Impulse and improvement of captivity, Providing sufficient resources, improving coordination and creating an advisory committee, similar to that of the Iberian Lynx.
- Improvement of liberations and translocations With the update and detailed development of the corresponding protocols with which the animals can be prepared correctly before being released in the natural environment.
- Periodic and coordinated monitoring of the species During the distribution area, data from the population events that give priority to the preservation of the preservation and implementation of new studies has to cover existing knowledge gaps on European mink and habitatecology.
- Integral recovery of the rivers Where the European Nerts lives, eliminate barriers, restore ecological streams and river bank.
- Start – Up to an Awareness and Communication Campaign This makes it possible to make known and to appreciate the endangered species, as well as the importance of preserving his habitat.