A major new project working in Highland and eastern Perthshire, the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, is looking for people to get involved in work to help remove American mink from the countryside.
The invasive American mink was brought to Scotland for fur-farming in 1938 and, as a consequence of escapes and deliberate releases, became established in the wild in the 1960s.
Mink are opportunistic and ferocious hunters, taking whatever prey is available and often killing more than they require for food. Their presence in the countryside has a devastating effect on native Scottish wildlife, particularly ground-nesting birds and water vole populations.