Bird breeder blames Environment Agency fish rescue for mink massacre
Farmer claims predators were driven on to his land after conservation work on drought-hit river
AN EXOTIC bird breeder who supplies feathers to fly fishermen across the world has blamed an alleged Environment Agency botch after half his flock was massacred by minks.
Ron Taylor had painstakingly developed his stock of colourful Indian grey junglefowl in the Worcestershire countryside for the last 30 years, making him the only breeder of his kind.
But he woke last week to find that 86 of his birds had had their aviaries breached and throats bitten in the night by what he believes were minks escaping the heatwave.
He told The Daily Telegraph the semi-aquatic carnivores had inadvertently been driven on to his land by officials trying to rescue fish on the nearby River Teme, which is running dry in parts after weeks without rain.
Mr Taylor believes the minks had initially been attracted by the easy pickings provided by fish trapped in isolated pools, but that once the fish rescue began they should have been trapped or shot to prevent them roaming elsewhere.
The Environment Agency, however, has strongly denied its activities were to blame for the killings.
The 88-year-old is now seeking permission to travel to India to capture and bring home more of the grey bird, otherwise known as Sonnerat’s junglefowl, to replenish his breeding stock.
The semi-fluorescent dark and yellow neck feathers of the males are highly sought-after by fishermen hoping to catch salmon and sea trout.
Every year Mr Taylor’s Bransford Game Fisheries sells more than £100,000 worth of feathers to the Fulling Mills fly-tying factory in Kenya, one of the largest in the world, as well as to individual fishermen in multiple countries.
“We’ve had no trouble with mink since we started in 1989 and suddenly they’re everywhere,” said Mr Taylor. “I went down to check on the birds and found I’d lost dozens of them. Instead of dealing with the minks they drove them on to my land. It’s devastating.”
American mink entered the British wild after escaping from farms, the first of which was established in the Twenties. The first reported sighting of breeding minks came in 1956 and the predators have since wreaked havoc among voles and populations of some ground nesting birds.
Willie Campbell, a local vet, said that fishermen had seen increasing numbers of mink at ponds located away from the river in recent weeks.
He added: “These animals are extremely vicious. They don’t kill for the eating – they kill for the killing.”
As a manager for Standard Chartered Bank working in the Far East, Mr Taylor began rescuing various types of Asian fowl from deforestation, sending them back to Britain, initially to Jersey Zoo.
Upon retirement he began breeding the grey jungle variety himself, which he sourced from the Nilgiri Mountains in southern India.
About 300 new birds are hatched on his farm each year.
Mr Taylor found evidence the animals which had killed the fowl had dug under the electric fences which were supposed to protect the aviaries.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency denied its actions were to blame and said other predators, such as polecats, were also present in that area.
“There is no evidence to suggest our work to rescue fish on the Teme displaced mink,” he said.
“During this prolonged hot weather, Environment Agency staff have worked 24/7 to protect the environment, rescuing thousands of fish in distress.”
Hundreds of fish, such as salmon and trout, were rescued by the agency in Worcestershire and Herefordshire last month.
Officials use electric shocks to stun the fish, allowing them to be captured, before releasing them in healthier parts of the river.
‘These animals are extremely vicious. They don’t kill for the eating – they kill for the killing’