YAKUTSK, November 1. /TASS/. The number of the American mink, earlier released into Yakutia, increased 6.5 times since the 1960s thus threatening the region's native animal species. An unlimited mink hunting may cope with the risks, Director of the Institute of Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone (the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch) told TASS.

It was more than five decades ago that the American mink was first released into Yakutia's nature. Since then, the habitat has expanded to the region's northeast by about 150,000 square kilometers. Over 35 years after 1964, the population grew to 4,000 - 5,000. In 2023, the species was put on Russia's list of 100 most dangerous alien organisms.

"The expanding habitat trend persists. The danger is that it is an alien acclimatized species. It may become invasive, causing damage to native animals by competing with them. In Yakutia's central districts, the American mink destroys nests of duck and other near-water birds. I think it is necessary to permit an unlimited hunt. Presently, the hunt is licensed within a limited time," the scientist said.

Protected status

According to Yakutia's nature authority, mink have been reported in 11 districts. The current hunting season is from October 15 to February 28.

Hunting expert Artur Dmitriev shares the opinion, expressed by the scientist. "Of course, we need to revoke the protected status. Unlike other introduced species, like the muskrat, the American mink is expanding its habitat. The species is rather a pest that does not have any commercial value. Anyway, the population needs to be regulated," he said.

The history of settlement

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

In 1959-1966, they were bred at Yakutia's farms until a lack of sufficient food supply. At the same time, the introduced American mink has successfully naturalized in many regions across Russia.

Earlier, European ecologists found that the habitat of invasive American minks, capable of spreading coronavirus, had significantly expanded in the past 15 years in virtually all countries of the subcontinent, and now those animals dominate ecosystems of 12 European states. The animals are able to become infected with coronavirus as well as with avian influenza, and can quickly spread both pathogens in their populations, scientists say. American minks also spread dog plague and viral plasmocytosis, and this makes them especially dangerous for other European mammals.