France opens European mink breeding centre named after Tiit Maran

France has opened a European mink breeding centre named after Estonian conservationist and MP Tiit Maran at Calviac Zoo in the south of the country, ERR reported. Maran attended the opening last week and said it was unusual to receive such an honour while still alive.

The zoo’s director invited Maran to the opening and told him the new centre would bear his name. “I couldn’t really say no,” Maran said on ERR’s Ringvaade programme.

Maran said the centre will help preserve the European mink’s genetic pool and support the release of animals into the wild. The species is in a poor state across Europe: France may have around 100 European mink in the wild, Spain about 200, and Hiiumaa may have around 100 by autumn, he said.

Breeding efforts began at Tallinn Zoo, Maran said. Spain now has three centres holding about 100 animals, while France has two centres.

The European mink has disappeared from the wild in many places because of the invasive American mink, also known as the mink. The larger, more aggressive animal breeds more successfully and is being controlled through continuous trapping, Maran said.

American mink were brought to Estonia for fur farming and escaped into the wild. Some farms have closed, partly because of Covid, but the species remains in the wild, he said. Maran added that European mink have an important role in the ecosystem.

Calviac Zoo is a community zoo focused mainly on conservation, Maran said. Its director, a former student of Gerald Durrell, wanted to create a zoo with a similar approach, and local residents support its work.