A widespread modern misconception is that the UK’s wild population of American mink originated from mass releases of mink from fur farms by animal rights activists in the 1990s. Many people will remember these dramatic events for the sheer numbers of mink involved. In fact, the wild population was established decades earlier from multiple escapes (and perhaps deliberate releases) all over the country. Mink farms had been established in the UK from the 1920s, and expansion of the industry resumed after WWII. At its peak in the 1950s, there were 400 known fur farms in the UK, and there were suspected to be additional ‘backyard’ units. Mink were first confirmed to be breeding in the wild in 1956. By December 1967, wild mink were present in over half the counties of England and Wales, and in much of lowland Scotland.
