08/05/2026
As you know, this was a magical moment I shared with a mischievous mink the other day, and, cute as it was, I also totally understand and sympathise with those who see the mink as an invasive and voracious problem that our wildlife could probably do without. Our wildlife has enough to worry about as it is. And yet, believe me when I tell you this, the mink is not the problem. Let me say that again. The mink is NOT the problem.
The mink is in essence no different from, say, a fox, who can wreak havoc to a clutch of nesting waterfowl chicks. The devastation we feel though is because our wildlife populations are so depleted that any impact on their numbers is felt and grieved by all. If we restore our wild spaces and implement ethical farming methods then balance is equally restored and the impact of predators on populations becomes bearable and ultimately sustainable. The grey squirrel is a nightmare for red squirrels (and hazelnuts) but only because their natural predators, such as the pine marten or goshawk, have so little connected woodland and forest in which to thrive.
Just a few feet above where you see the mink in this video there is a field filled with an animal that poses a far greater threat to Britainās wildlife. The field is full of sheep. In Wales there are estimated to be 10,000 mink. And yet there are nearly 10 million sheep in Wales and over 30 million in Britain. In Britain sheep now occupy almost 10 million acres of land which does not include the additional five million acres used to grow livestock feed. Modern, industrial-scale grazing, heavily supported by government subsidies, has massively altered our landscapes, turning vast areas of once nature-abundant ecosystems into ecological deserts.
It is no coincidence then that Britain now carries the shameful stigma of possessing one of the most nature-depleted landscapes in the world, with over 16% of species now at risk of extinction and over 400 species having already disappeared from our landscapes in just the last 200 years. This is the reason sheep have been described by many ecologists as "hoofed locusts" because (as lovely creatures as they are) they devour indiscriminately and remove from the ecosystem so many species of plants and tree seedlings that wildflower, scrub and forest regeneration becomes impossible. They also destroy protective vegetative structure exposing vulnerable nests to predators like crows, foxes and, of course, your mink.
Itās time such rose-tinted idyllic rural myths (as promoted in programs such as This Farming Life, The Farmers' Country Showdown, Countryfile, Clarkson's Farm, Our Yorkshire Farm, Our Dream Farm, Victorian Farm...) are finally put to bed and the true story be told. By glamorising industrial and intensive farming the real impact of agricultural ecological destruction is glossed over and our toxic cultural traditions continue unchecked while our landscape continues to deteriorate.
We cannot go on like this. There is no idyll in the decimation of life. If we want our wildlife to return and life to flourish in Britain then we have to make a hard choice. Itās time to reassess land use. Itās time to choose life. Itās time to give Forest Gardening a chance. Love to all. Your mud-stained brother, Lucas š±
