The Consortium manager of the Protected Landscape of the mouth of the Mijares River has canceled the work of monitoring, surveillance and control of the American mink (Neovison vison) by indication of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition after several agents Environmental agents will capture two specimens of this exotic species in the Palancia and Mijares rivers with coronavirus.
Thus, the animals were delivered to the Veterinary Faculty of the Cardenal Herrera CEU San Pablo University in Valencia, which, after an initial analysis, confirmed the presence of the SARS-COV2 virus in the body of the two mustelids.
Now,To prevent the health of the technicians, environmental agents and rural guards of the Mijares River Consortium, it has been decided to immediately suspend the campaign until a new protocol is in place that protects the management of this exotic wild species introduced into the Valencian rivers.
To control the exotic species, the rural nursery of the Mijares River Consortium had three floating platforms. Each one was deposited on the water in places where the presence of the animals had previously been detected by analyzing their droppings or tracks on the riverbank.
In May 2019, the rural nursery managed to capture the first specimen of American mink in the Protected Landscape. Specifically, it was a young animal trapped in the meter area. The rural nursery of the Mijares River Consortium officially detected the presence of American mink in the 2014
Protected Landscape . Specifically , three specimens were found drowned in some illegal nets that some poachers had installed in the river to capture eels . As a result of this appointment, the Consortium contacted the Ministry to join efforts and avoid the dispersion of the invasive species towards the humid zone, where it could cause a lot of damage to biodiversity. This mammal inhabits a few places in northern Spain, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and France.
The objective was to contribute to the improvement of the European mink, precisely with the use of effective techniques to eradicate the invasive American mink, its great competitor and which poses a serious threat not only to the European mustelid, but also to many other species of native fauna. in Europe.
The American mink has been present in the northern regions of the Valencian Community , in the Mijares and Palancia rivers, since the 1990s. They are animals that have fled or were released from fur farms located in the provinces of Teruel and Castellon. The exotic mink began a slow but continuous dispersion towards the Alto Mijares area, the Turia river, the Jalon river and finally reached the Ebro river.
The animals once colonized the Ebro river and came into contact with the habitat of the threatened European mink. The Mijares River Consortium with Life Lutreola established their commitment to collaborate with the Ministry to reduce the populations of American mink in the Protected Landscape and thus protect the last redoubts of European mink located in northern Spain.
