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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
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- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
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- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
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- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
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- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
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- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Research grants // Our UK mammal projects // Water voles in Scotland

Water voles in Scotland

water vole in gloved hand by William Morgan

Optimising invasive American mink control for conservation of water voles

This project has now finished

The problem

American mink were brought to the UK from North America to be farmed for fur in the early 20th century. Since then many have escaped or been intentionally released and the species has become established throughout the UK.

Mink are voracious predators of a wide range of vulnerable native prey, most notably the water vole. Since the introduction of mink , our water voles have disappeared from more than 90% of their historic homes.

The solution

The Scottish Mink Initiative began in 2011 as a community based volunteer project aiming to remove breeding mink from northern Scotland in order to protect native biodiversity. Following huge initial success the project now faces the challenge of continuing to expand with reduced funding.

We are now part funding a PhD research project, carried out by Ewan McHenry at the University of Aberdeen, that aims to increase the efficiency of mink control so that future work might be carried out more effectively.

The project will use information from a range of sources gathered so far during mink control in Scotland and additional field studies to advise how mink control might be optimised. The study will attempt to identify the landscape features that benefit mink most, allowing control efforts to be more effectively targeted in the future, and allow water vole numbers to recover.