Britain's New Mammal

Yesterday I heard via the media a rather strange story that a Skunk had been rescued from the wild in Britain. It appears that because of a change in the law here so that pet owners can no longer get vets to remove the scent glands, people have released them into the countryside. Now while I could go on about the effect of these invaders on the wild, what makes this news rather interesting is that about six months ago I was told that there appears to be one, a Skunk, in the local area.

While I have not seen any sign of it myself, having now discovered that a few irresponsible people have released Skunks into the wild, I realise that the sighting could be credible. I will admit that I was sceptical when I first heard of the sighting, but I always keep an open mind. However I now wish that I had posted about it at the time, I was just not sure if it was someone pulling my leg.

What concerns me is that the skunk will feed on the eggs of ground nesting birds such as Sky Larks and Woodcock, both relatively rare in Britain but thriving here. However, if it is just one individual the threat may be small, but if there have been multiple releases then there could be the core of breeding populations now roaming Britain. Even if the numbers released are small, I have no doubt that animals will link up and given half a chance they will breed.

While the impact of the actions of a few irresponsible people has yet to be discovered on native populations, this is an experiment that should never have been allowed yo happen. It may be that the impact is very small and the Skunks will not compete with or displace native species, but experience says that will not be the case.

I would love to see a Skunk in the wild, but I would go to America to do that (Invitations Welcome), and not here in Britain. All I can do is hope that the numbers that have been released are so small and to dispersed to establish, but I suspect that Skunks are here to stay.